Trained Syrian rebels give equipment to al-Qaeda group

A Syrian rebel commander who recently completed a USA training program has told the Pentagon that he surrendered six coalition-provided trucks and ammunition to militants from the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front.

Pat Ryder, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said Monday that military leaders are continuing to review the program and dig into the details of the equipment loss last week.

The incident marked a second major embarrassment for the program, after the first group of 54 rebels disintegrated upon reentering Syria in July. The weapons had been stolen by a commander affiliated with USA trained fighters, Anas Ibrahim Ubayad or Abu Zayd, after he reported defected, the group claimed.

Syrian rebels trained by the United States gave some of their equipment to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in exchange for safe passage, a USA military spokesman said on Friday, the latest blow to a troubled US effort to train local partners to fight Islamic State militants.

[U.S.-trained fighters in Syria gave equipment to al-Qaeda affiliate]. The commander of the larger opposition group did not participate in the USA training program, but he and his group had been vetted by the United States.

“We will look at what we can do to prevent such a situation in the future, but given the complexity of the battlefield it is not possible to eliminate all risk”, Ryder said.

“But for those of us who opposed the Syria train and equip program from the start, our predictions that our assistance would end up aiding mortal enemies of the USA like al Qaeda are now coming true”, Murphy said.

The following day, the commander returned to that location to provide some of his ammunition to the same intermediary. However, upon further investigation, officials determined that the NSF has in fact traded US military hardware to the Nusra Front. “We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response”. Of that group, Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command, said during a recent hearing that only “four or five” were left, the Pentagon later revised that number to nine.

The commander notified Centcom this past Friday that he had exchanged the materials to gain safe passage for his fighters.

This program is part of an ongoing “game” in the region that has resulted in USA “taxpayers’ money being spent into oblivion; money down a big rat hole”, Dean told Press TV in a phone interview on Sunday. “Syria is a very complicated battlefield with [the Islamic State], al Nusra, and the moderate and vetted opposition’s area of control frequently and sometimes quickly shifting”.

“It is important to be clear eyed about the conditions in which these forces operate, the groups working against them, and the need to overcome the challenges they have encountered and will continue to face”, said Ryder.