The US-backed Division 30 was also left reeling when the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra front captured at least five of its members in overnight raids, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Monday, the US administration said it was prepared to take "additional steps" to defend the US-trained forces, warning Bashar al-Assad's regime "not to interfere".
A US-led coalition has provided air support for Kurdish and rebel militia fighting IS since September 2014, but has not struck regime positions.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Assad's regime could be targeted if it attacked the new US-backed forces.
The United States, Earnest said, was "committed to using military force where necessary to protect the coalition-trained and equipped Syrian opposition fighters."
There was no official reaction from the Syrian government on Tuesday, but a political figure close to the regime told AFP that the US had "relayed a message to Damascus not to worry about these statements".
"It's about hitting Al-Nusra hard, not the Syrian army," he said.
Dubbed the "New Syrian Force" by Washington, the 54-strong rebel unit entered northern Syria in mid-July as part of US efforts to counter the powerful Islamic State jihadist group.
The force includes fighters from Division 30, based in Syria's northern province of Aleppo.
Despite Al-Nusra's fierce hostility to the rival jihadists of IS, the unit soon came under attack from the Al-Qaeda loyalists.
On Tuesday, the jihadists raided a camp for internally displaced people in Qah, capturing another five Division 30 men.
The Observatory chief said Al-Nusra was "hunting down" US-backed rebels in both Idlib province, where Qah is located, and in neighbouring Aleppo province.
The raids came less than a week after Al-Nusra seized eight Division 30 rebels in Aleppo province, the Observatory said, in a report that drew a denial from the Pentagon.
Two days later, Al-Nusra launched an assault on Division 30's Aleppo headquarters and were only repulsed with the help of US air strikes.
On Monday, Washington said it was prepared to expand those strikes to the Syrian regime, should it attack any of the US-trained units.
Charles Lister, an analyst at the Doha Brookings Centre, said the US statement was a "big shift in US policy" but that it would not translate into a significant change on the ground.
With the US-trained force deployed in border areas where there is limited regime activity, Lister said there was a slim chance of confrontation with government forces.
"It is extremely unlikely, at least for the next six months, that any situation will arise where the US will have to fight against the regime or strike it," Lister told AFP.
- A Syrian military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also played down the US warning.
"The American threats are nothing more than media statements," the source, speaking from Damascus, told AFP.
AFP
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4/8/15
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Lavrov condemns US plan to extend Syria bombing...
ReplyDeleteRussia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday dismissed as "counter-productive" an announcement by Washington that it could take extra measures to defend US-allied fighters in Syria.
At a news conference in Qatar, Lavrov condemned comments by the White House that it could take "additional steps" to protect allies in Syria and warned Bashar al-Assad's regime not to impede their actions.
"We believe it's counterproductive to announce publicly that some US-trained armed groups... will be under the protection of the coalition's air forces," Lavrov said.
"And that to protect these groups this air force would be authorised to strike at any forces which may -- may -- be considered a hindrance to the work of this group."
Lavrov added that the matter had been raised with US Secretary of State John Kerry when they met earlier Monday in Qatar's capital Doha.
Earlier, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Syria "should not interfere" with operations by US-trained forces, warning that "additional steps" could be taken to defend them, raising the prospect of strikes against the regime.
In another apparent criticism of Washington, Lavrov said: "We are seriously concerned about the continuing crisis in Syria and the humanitarian disaster that has broken out in the country, and are in favour of an immediate end to external intervention in the Syrian crisis."
Lavrov added that the matter had been raised with Kerry........AFP.......http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/136887.aspx
4/8/15