DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – Militants trained at the US base of At Tanf near the border between Syria and Iraq sell US munitions to the Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in both the United States and Russia), former security head of the Syrian sector of the base told Sputnik, adding that Washington was made aware of the situation.
"Hidden support was provided by selling weapons to the Daesh. When we found out about this, we told the Americans about it. However they started to support the commander they placed above us [Mugannat Attalia, the leader of Mahavir as-Saura group] even more. [Militants] sold US-made weapons, vehicles, antitank grenade launchers, M-16 rifles, a large number of them. After the United States carried out the latest revision, they found that 4,700 rifles were missing," Muhammad Assalam said.
"There is absolutely no humanitarian and medical help," Assalam said.
The interlocutor also pointed out that some Syrians stationed at the US base are willing to fight the Daesh, while others are ready to fight against the Syrian government forces at the US request.
"[The US forces] asked Syrians to fight against the Syrian army, but decent people refused saying that the group was formed to battle Daesh and not the army. That is why a part of the group from Deir ez-Zur were sent to the base in Shaddadi to fight the Daesh and then, perhaps, to conduct combat operations against government forces," Assalam said.
Mahavir as-Saura was formed as part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Syria's major opposition force, in December 2016 with the help of financial support from the United States. The militants underwent military training in Jordan supervised by specialists from the US-led coalition against the Daesh terrorist group. The majority of Mahavir as-Saura's activities took place in southern Syria.
