The US Central Command admitted that the so-called New Syrian Forces (NSF) surrendered their weapons to the al-Nusra Front in exchange for safe passage within the region, a startling acknowledgement that contrasted with earlier Pentagon denials.
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The generals swore that all of their weapons to fight ISIS were in the hands of their Syrian allies.
The new revelations angered American military leaders.
Col. Pat Ryder, U.S. Central Command spokesman, says the commander was vetted by the US, but contrary to initial information, was not in the USA training program.
USA officials said the Syrians continue to insist that they have not relinquished any actual weapons to the Nusra Front and that all of their personnel are still accounted for.
On Friday, the Pentagon was forced to backtrack. “We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response”. Then, abruptly, the brass changed its tune. Turkey has already been backing al-Qaeda against Syria for some time.
As recently as Wednesday, officials had said they were aware of where ” 100 percent” of the weapons were.
“There were some mistakes made, initially, with the first class”, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.
When the United States launched its war in Syria late a year ago, they went after al-Qaeda with some of their airstrikes, which sparked condemnation for rebel factions who argued that al-Qaeda is part of the side the USA is supposed to be helping.
At a more recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, on Tuesday, retired Gen. David Petraeus, who commended American and allied forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said the training program should be completely overhauled.
The al-Nusra Front news comes as Lebanon’s Shia group, Hezbollah, welcomed Russia’s military expedition in Syria, citing U.S.-led campaign as a failure to remove ISIS from their land.
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On a Facebook page claiming to belong to Maj. The weapons had been stolen by a commander affiliated with US trained fighters, Anas Ibrahim Ubayad or Abu Zayd, after he reported defected, the group claimed.
