WORLD_ SYRIA_ Pentagon urges caution on Syria setback

THE HILL

Pentagon urges caution on Syria setback

By Kristina Wong - 11/03/14 02:37 PM EST

The Pentagon on Monday sought to play down the significance of reports that two moderate Syrian rebel groups, armed by the United States, had surrendered to an al-Qaeda affiliate.

"There are battles all the time between these various groups, and territory trades hands in these local areas regularly," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said.

Warren was speaking following reports that rebels with the two groups, the Syrian Revolutionary Front and the Harakat Haz, had surrendered to the Al Nusra Front , Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. There are also reports that some fighters have pledged allegiance to the group.

The development would be a setback for the United States' plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebel forces to battle the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), since the Al Nusra Front sees the Syrian regime, not ISIS, as its primary enemy.

It could also expose the dangers of arming supposedly-moderate Syrian rebels, if those weapons end up falling into radical Islamist enemy. The United States has reportedly armed both groups with heavy weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles and GRAD rockets. Some of that weaponry may now belong to Al Nusra.

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