Pentagon: Reports of US-trained militants defection to al-Qaeda in Syria false
The United States Department of Defense has denied reports that its newest batch of trained militants to fight inside Syria had defected with their weapons to an al-Qaeda affiliate.
"We believe those reports to be false," Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters on Wednesday.
“Their weapons and equipment are also still under the control of those rebels,” Davis claimed.
Reports said on Monday that a group of US-trained militants, under the name of Division 30, had defected to the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front in Syria.
The militants had just “graduated” from the Pentagon’s $500-million “train and equip” program in Turkey.
Davis, however, said, "It's patently false that there have been defections or weapons turned over... we believe the claims to those effect to be untrue."
"We do have contact, we have communications with members of the group and our understanding from being in touch ... is that all are present and accounted for, as are their weapons," he added.
Al-Nusra militants attacked the division’s headquarters last month, killing five, wounding 18, and kidnapping some others.
In July, another batch of US-trained militants had been hit hard by the terrorist group in Syria. The first trained group, made up of 54 militants, was wiped out by al-Nusra soon after it returned to Syria in July.
The Obama administration came under intense pressure since last week, when Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, head of US Central Command, admitted the Pentagon’s failure in its program to train and arm Syrian militants to combat Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.
The general said on Wednesday that the program, that sought to train and arm 5,400 militants to combat Daesh this year, yielded only "four or five" fighters in the field.
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