The Russian government is working to pick off Syrian rebels armed and trained by the U.S. to fight against the Islamic State who have often been dissatisfied with Washington’s assistance.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that he plans to publicly outline in early August details of a bilateral agreement that will enhance military cooperation between the United States and Russia in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria.
President Obama approved a new military partnership with Russian forces to strengthen cooperation between the two nations in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria.
U.S.-trained rebels that reentered Syria over the weekend after completing the Pentagon program allegedly gave their weapons to the al Qaeda affiliate in the region, al Nusra.
Syrian rebels are claiming that Turkey tipped off members of the al Qaeda affiliate that kidnapped at least five U.S-backed Syrian opposition fighters late last month when they entered Syria after completing a Pentagon training program.
Members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) are fleeing Syria for safer positions in Iraq, as rival Syrian al Qaeda forces also began moving their forces to avoid U.S. bombing attacks, according to U.S. officials and reports from the region.
The Obama administration’s war on ISIL included the first direct attack on traditional al Qaeda terrorists in Syria during airstrikes Monday. Officials said the strikes were aimed at heading off an imminent terror attack against the United States or Europe.
JERUSALEM—The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) has begun operating sleeper cells in southern Syria near the border with the Golan Heights, according to a spokesman for the moderate rebel group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri issued a public appeal recently urging an ultra-violent splinter faction of the terrorist group to return to Iraq and cease fighting rebels of the al Nusra Front, the official al Qaeda franchise in Syria.
