Konflikten i Syrien

Armed to the teeth: Amnesty slams US & allies for weapons falling into ISIS’ hands

Islamic State’s campaign of terror in Iraq and Syria is being aided by the use of weapons indirectly supplied by the very countries trying to fight them, with the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 giving the terrorist group access to “a large and lethal arsenal,” a new report states.

The claims were made in a study by Amnesty International, entitled ‘Taking Stock: The arming of Islamic State,’ which was released on Tuesday. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) managed to acquire most of its munitions by raiding weapons depots of the Iraqi government army. However, the capture of weapons on the battlefield, defections and an illicit trade have helped to keep their supplies well-stocked.
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Between 2011 and 2013, the US signed billions of dollars' worth of arms contracts with the Iraqi government, and by 2014 it had delivered more than $500 million worth of small arms and ammunition.

Congress also passed a bill in December 2014 giving the green light to $64 billion in funding for overseas war ventures in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. However, the White House was left with its tail between its legs after a $500 million program to train ‘moderate’ rebels ended in abject failure, with just a handful of fighters making the grade.

Even more disastrous was the fact that a stockpile of weapons given to the US-trained rebels ended up in the hands of terrorists, after the so-called ‘moderates’ willingly handed it over to groups such as Al-Nusra Front soon after crossing into Syria.

“My concern from the beginning was that we were going to end up unwittingly aiding and abetting terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda,” Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, told Sputnik news agency in October, adding “I am sorry that my concern turned out to be true.”

Most of the conventional weapons being used by IS fighters date from the 1970s to the 1990s, including pistols, handguns and other small arms, machine guns, anti-tank weapons, mortars and artillery. Soviet Union-era Kalashnikov-style rifles are commonplace, mainly from Russian and Chinese manufacturers.

Syria slams US: US blames Russia because 'why not?'

On Monday, Syria said its army camp was targeted by an airstrike from the US-led coalition. In response to the allegations, Washington deployed an all-too-familiar tactic: blame Russia.

On Sunday night, an airstrike in the eastern Syrian city of Deir el-Zour left three soldiers dead and another 13 wounded. In response, the Syrian government wrote a letter to the United Nations in which it squarely accused four coalition aircraft for the attack, and blamed the US for a blatant "act of aggression."

"This hampers efforts to combat terrorism and proves once again that this coalition lacks seriousness and credibility to effectively fight terrorism," the letter reads, according to the Associated Press.

The US has fervently denied the claim, insisting that coalition aircraft at the time were targeting oil wells 34 miles from the site of the army camp.
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But denial wasn’t Washington’s only strategy for dealing with the allegations. The Pentagon has also begun blaming the airstrike on Russia.

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Syria’s claims are supported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Based on the testimony of activists in the region, the Observatory reports that the strikes were “believed” to have been carried out by the coalition.

Even Daesh, also known as ISIL/the Islamic State, posted comments on its Facebook page which seem to corroborate Syria’s claims. The terrorist group claims that coalition aircraft were seen flying toward territory controlled by the Syrian government, where loud explosions were heard.

By comparison, Russian airstrikes have fastidiously targeted Daesh positions. Moscow has also repeatedly called for the international community to work with the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad in countering the terrorist threat. Bombing that government would make little sense.

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This isn’t the first time that US-led coalition airstrikes against Daesh have been less than accurate. The Observatory also reports that strikes aimed at supporting Kurdish fighters in Hassakeh province killed 26 people, including seven children and four women.

The US has also refused to take full responsibility for the bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, which left 22 staffers dead. On Monday, the organization announced a final push to establish an independent investigation into the incident.

The Pentagon may be “certain” it was a Russian strike, but the US seems to be alone in that assessment.

RUSSIA SAYS IT'S CONCERNED ABOUT BOMBING OF SYRIAN ARMY CAMP

Without commenting on the U.S. claim, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it has a "serious concern" about reports of the coalition strike in Deir el-Zour. It said the incident was rooted in the U.S.-led coalition's reluctance to coordinate with Damascus on its campaign against the Islamic State group.

As of September 2015, according to Russian Civic Chamber’s commission on public diplomacy and compatriots abroad, approximately 2,500 Russian nationals and 7,000 citizens of other post-Soviet republics were fighting alongside

U.S. officials cited coalition surveillance and other data they said showed that Russian aircraft launched airstrikes near the Syrian army camp. One senior official said the Russian aircraft were in the air around 9 p.m. Sunday near the city of Deir el-Zour, whereas the coalition aircraft were flying an hour earlier about 55 kilometers away.

A senior U.S. official said radar tracked a dozen Russian TU-22 bombers that left Mozdok, Russia, traveled over the Caspian Sea, across portions of Iran and Iraq, and launched airstrikes in Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and Al Bukamal, Syria.

Radar shows Russian bombers making seven passes over the city of Deir el-Zour dropping munitions, the official said, adding that one of the TU-22s made a pass over the area of the army camp within one minute of the explosion that killed the Syrian troops. Overall, the Russian bombers launched strikes in four locations around Deir el-Zour.

#Syria #DeirEzZor Reports that intensive #Russian_Air_Force flights over #DeirEzZor now. #RuAF #RussianAirForce