The acknowledgement contrasted with earlier denials by the US Defence Department of reports that some fighters had either defected or handed over gear.
"Unfortunately, we learned late today that the NSF (New Syrian Forces) unit now says it did in fact provide six pickup trucks and a portion of their ammunition to a suspected Al-Nusra Front [group]," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said on Friday.
Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for Central Command, which is overseeing efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), said the fighters had handed over the gear in exchange for safe passage in the Nusra Front operating area.
"If accurate, the report of NSF members providing equipment to Al-Nusra Front is very concerning and a violation of Syria train-and-equip programme guidelines," Ryder said.
Ryder added that the pickup vehicles and ammunition represented about 25 percent of the equipment issued to the group by the US-led coalition.
"We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response," Ryder said.
A defence official told the AFP news agency that according to the NSF, there had not been any defections, but he stressed: "We only know what they have told us."
Disbelief
The development is another embarrassing setback for the US effort to "train and equip" Syrian fighters to take on ISIL in Syria.
The $500m programme originally aimed to ready about 5,400 vetted fighters a year for three years but problems finding suitable candidates have seen only a tiny fraction getting trained.
The first graduates, who made up a group of 54 fighters, were attacked by the Nusra Front in July and the Pentagon is still unsure what happened to them all, with at least one killed.
The second group, consisting of about 70 fighters, were sent back to Syria last weekend and reports began circulating on Twitter soon after that they had either defected or handed over equipment.
Last week, before the insertion of the new fighters, the US general overseeing efforts against ISIL drew gasps of disbelief from senior politicians when he told them only "four or five" US-trained rebels were on the ground fighting in Syria.
Unwilling to commit US ground troops in the region, the Obama administration in January launched the train-and-equip mission for Syrian opposition fighters as part of a broader push to work with locals there and in Iraq.
The programme has faltered, with the Pentagon saying many would-be fighters had failed the strict screening process.
Source: AFP
aljazeera.com
26/9/15
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Related:
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Rebels Blame Turkey After US-Trained 'Moderates' Captured Inside Syria
75 US-trained rebels enter Syria from Turkey
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A group of US-trained Syrian rebels has handed over their vehicles and ammunition to fighters linked to al-Qaeda, the US military has admitted....
ReplyDeleteIt said one rebel unit had surrendered six pick-up trucks and ammunition to the al-Nusra Front this week - apparently to gain safe passage.
Congress has approved $500m (£323m) to train and equip about 5,000 rebels to fight against Islamic State militants.
But the first 54 graduates were routed by al-Nusra Front, the military said.
Gen Lloyd Austin told US lawmakers last week that only "four or five" US-trained rebels were still fighting.
'Programme violation'
"Unfortunately, we learned late today that the NSF (New Syrian Forces) unit now says it did in fact provide six pick-up trucks and a portion of their ammunition to a suspected al-Nusra Front (group)," Pentagon spokesman Cpt Jeff Davis said on Friday.
Meanwhile, Col Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for US Central Command (Centcom), said this happened on 21-22 September.
He added that the surrendered vehicles and ammunition amounted to roughly 25% of the equipment issued to the unit......BBC
26/9/15
Syrie: des rebelles formés par les Américains ont remis des munitions à Al-Qaïda ...
ReplyDeleteDes rebelles syriens formés par les Etats-Unis ont remis une partie de leur équipement et munitions au Front al-Nosra, la branche syrienne d'Al-Qaïda, a reconnu vendredi le commandement des forces américaines au Moyen-Orient (Centcom).
Un comportement "très préoccupant"
Les rebelles ont indiqué à l'armée américaine qu'ils avaient remis "six pick-ups et une partie de leurs munitions à un intermédiaire soupçonné d'appartenir au Front al-Nosra, soit à peu près 25% de leur équipement", apparemment "en échange de leur passage", a indiqué le Centcom dans un communiqué. S'il est confirmé, ce comportement "est très préoccupant et constitue une violation des règles" du programme de formation des NSF (New Syrian forces, Nouvelles forces syriennes), a indiqué dans le communiqué le colonel Patrick Ryder, un porte-parole du Centcom.
Selon un responsable américain interrogé par l'AFP, il n'y pas eu de défection de combattants vers le Front al-Nosra. Mais "nous ne savons que ce qu'ils nous disent", a-t-il ajouté............rtbf.be
26/9/15