News about the uncertainty of their whereabouts came a week after the rebels were attacked by 50 fighters from the rival al-Nusra Front, a rebel group affiliated with al Qaeda.
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The United States said on Tuesday it had indications that Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military were captured by fighters from al-Qaeda’s Syria wing, Nusra Front, in the latest blow to a fledgling program at the center of America’s war strategy.
The Pentagon’s training program to create a pro-US Syrian rebel faction, now dubbed “Division 30”, has become a failure of colossal proportions. “Five fighters were seen captured but there may be more, ” the Observatory stressed, adding that according to informers on the ground, Al-Nusra is “hunting down” US-backed rebels in at least two Syrian territories: Idlib province and neighboring Aleppo province”. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Instead, once they are trained they return to the Syrian rebel groups that the U.S. has been working with.
The Pentagon on Thursday restated its commitment to protecting U.S.-trained Syrian troops, but acknowledged that it does not even know the location of the entire first group of trainees.
Ryder did not go into detail about the whether any of the missing NSF fighters returned to the battlefield, only saying that they are not under US command and control. “You’re right. I don’t expect that occasion to arise anytime soon”, said Carter. “But overall we remain committed to ensuring that we have a group there that we can train and equip, moderate Syrian opposition who can continue to fight against ISIL on the ground as part of a broader strategy to defeat ISIL across the region”. Al-Nusra is taken into account a terrorist organisation by the US and different Western nations. As of the end of July, the U.S. has spent $3.5 billion, or almost $10 million per day since operations began a year ago.
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Despite facing severe threats in northern Syria from Turkish and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, and Kurdish-led forces threatening their de-facto capital of Raqqa, Islamic State extremists are expanding an offensive in central Syria.
