United States-led coalition forces have parachuted ammunition to Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, a US official has said. Elissa Smith, a spokesperson for the US Secretary of Defense, said on Monday that the airdrop took place in northern Syria on Sunday. Aljazeerahas more:
“This successful airdrop provided ammunition to Syrian groups whose leaders were appropriately vetted by the United States and have been fighting to remove ISIL from northern Syria,” she said. “The airdrop includes small arms ammunition. Due to operational security we will not have any further details about the groups that received these supplies, their location, or the type of equipment in the airdrop.”
Meanwhile, Russia – which believes it is wrong of US to arm the groups that Washington calls “moderate” – intensified its air strikes on Monday in central Syria.
The Russian defence ministry said it had struck 53 alleged ISIL targets in the past 24 hours, destroying command centres, ammunition and fuel depots, as well as training camps allegedly used by foreign fighters.
