US trained rebel groups hand over weapons to al-Qaeda affiliate: Reports
Syrian fighters trained by the United States to combat the Islamic State group have reportedly handed over their weapons to Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front.
Sources told regional experts that fighters from Division 30, the first faction to graduate from the US train-and-equip programme based in Turkey, betrayed the US and gave their weapons to Nusra Front on Monday.
In a press statement released on Monday, the US Central Command said that about 70 graduates of the Syria train-and-equip programme had re-entered Syria with their weapons and equipment and were operating as New Syrian Forces (NSF) alongside Syrian Kurds, Sunni Arabs and other anti-IS forces.
“With support from the coalition, the NSF will fight alongside vetted opposition forces and employ their training and equipment acquired through the T&E programme,” the statement said.
The news will deal a further blow to backers of the programme, with critics pointing out incompetencies such as the kidnapping of Division 30's commander by the Nusra Front last month.
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The Commander of US Central Command General Lloyd Austin revealed last week that only four or five fighters remain on the ground to oppose the Islamic State group.
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