Syria militants confess to receiving training in Turkey

A number of foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists, who have been arrested by the Syrian army, have confessed that they were trained in Turkey by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Takfiri militants, who were caught recently in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, confessed in interviews broadcast by the Syrian state TV on Sunday that military personnel from the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had trained them on Turkey’s soil.

One of the terrorists, identified as Ahmad Mustafa Mastari, said that he, along with other members of a terrorist group, had been sent to Aleppo after received military training in Turkey for 30 days.

He added that the foreign personnel had trained them for 45 days in the city of Salqin in the Syrian province of Idleb before the training in Turkey.

“I was among the force that attacked Jam’yat al-Zahraa in Aleppo, we were about 250 persons, but the operation failed and we were arrested by the army” Mastari said.

Another terrorist, called Mohammad Aqel Akk, said a group of terrorists, including himself, had been trained for 45 days in Salqin, adding that they were later sent to Turkey to complete their training.

He went on to say that besides receiving training, every trainee was given USD 200 in Turkey.

“We then returned to Aleppo and commenced a huge attack on army posts in Aleppo, but our operation was a failure and we got caught,” he added.

Qasem Abdullah, a terrorist who was caught by the Syrian army in Aleppo, said that he received five months of training in Turkey where he was receiving about USD 80 per month.

He added that he was among a group of 50 gunmen who took part in a failed attack in Aleppo.

“A number of us, including me, were injured in the attack and we decided to surrender to the army” he said.

Turkey is one of the main supporters of the Takfiri militancy against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the militants operating in Syria, and facilitates the safe passage of would-be foreign terrorists into the country, which has been gripped by a deadly crisis since 2011.

Washington, along with its Western and Arab allies, has been among the major supporters of Takfiri extremists operating in Syria.

The US and Turkey signed a deal in February to train and arm militants in Syria.

On May 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said militants were being trained and equipped in the central Turkish city of Kirsehir under the joint Ankara-Washington program.

The mission, which officially started in June, will see more than 15,000 foreign-backed militants trained on the Turkish soil in a three-year time period.  Over 120 US soldiers are reportedly in Turkey to train the militants.

IA/MHB/AS

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