MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Photographs obtained by the BBC on Monday and dated from June reveal UK soldiers on patrol vehicles equipped with sniper rifles, machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
According to the broadcaster, the troops appear to be in a defensive role following an attack by the Daesh jihadist group on the so-called moderate New Syrian Army opposition on the Syria-Iraq border.
The opposition group’s spokesman admitted to the BBC that the New Syrian Army had been receiving special forces training from the United Kingdom.
The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against Daesh outlawed in Russia and many other countries since the summer of 2014. However, there are currently no international ground troops officially deployed to Syria.
