Report: US secretly training Syrian rebels

CIA operatives and U.S. special operations troops have been
training Syrian rebels since late last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

{mosads}The U.S. has provided training for the rebels at bases in
Jordan and Turkey, where they have learned to use anti-tank and anti-aircraft
weaponry, according to the newspaper.

The training reportedly occurred months before
the White House decided, last week, that it would provide military support to the Syrian
opposition after determining President Bashar Assad’s forces used
chemical weapons.

The White House has not indicated, however, if it will provide heavy weapons like anti-tank missiles to the rebels.

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Friday would not say whether the U.S. was training Syrian rebels.

“We have stepped up our assistance but I cannot inventory
for you all of the elements of that assistance,” Carney said.

He said that the administration would be consulting with
Congress on its assistance to the Syrian opposition in the coming weeks and that the U.S. has already provided more humanitarian aid than any other nation.

The Times reports that the training and White House’s
decision to provide more military support has raised hopes in the opposition
that heavy weapons will be coming, which the rebels say is necessary to regain
the offensive in the two-year civil war.

The report said that it could not be determined how many
rebels were trained in the program, which involved members of the Free Syrian
Army. The training involved 20 to 45 fighters at a time, according to a rebel
commander, and began in Jordan last November.

The Obama administration is weighing what types of weapons to provide
the opposition, but officials are concerned that anti-aircraft missiles could wind up in
the hands of Islamist militant groups, which could in turn use them against the U.S.

In March, The Associated Press also reported that rebel groups were being trained by the United States. At the time, the Pentagon denied any military training was occurring.

— Jonathan Easley
contributed to this report.