U.S. Central Command said it was notified Friday afternoon that U.S.-trained Syrian forces deployed to fight the Islamic State surrendered much of its coalition-issued equipment to a suspected Al Qaeda group upon entering Syria.
[sharequote align="right"]"...very concerning and a violation of Syria train and equip program guidelines.”[/sharequote]
CENTCOM said the equipment was supposedly given to the Al Nusra Front, often referred to as Al Qaeda in Syria, in exchange for safe travel through the area.
“Today the NSF unit contacted Coalition representatives and informed us that on Sept. 21-22 they gave six pick-up trucks and a portion of their ammunition to a suspected Al Nusra Front intermediary, which equates to roughly 25 percent of their issued equipment,” said Col. Patrick Ryder, U.S. Central Command spokesperson.
He added, “If accurate, the report of NSF members providing equipment to Al Nusra Front is very concerning and a violation of Syria train and equip program guidelines.”
Members of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service force participate in a training exercise as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter observes at the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service Academy on the Baghdad Airport Complex July 23, 2015 in Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images)
Al Nusra Front had tweeted out an image this week showing a Coalition-issued rifle as proof the Syrian forces had surrendered its weapons upon re-entering Syria.
“In light of this new information, we wanted to ensure the public was informed as quickly as possible about the facts as we know them at this time,” said Col. Ryder. “We are using all means at our disposal to look into what exactly happened and determine the appropriate response.”
The Pentagon had denied reports of the weapons exchange earlier this week before conceding it appeared to be true Friday evening.
"We believed at the time that those reports were false, based on reports from NSF that all equipment was under their control and from the fact that the ANF tweet included what we knew to be a repurposed old photo," said U.S. Navy Cpt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. "Unfortunately, we learned late today that the NSF unit now says it did in fact provide six pick-up trucks and a portion of their ammunition to a suspected al-Nusra Front."
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