[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] U.S.-led coalition forces have parachuted ammunition to rebels fighting ISIS jihadists in northern Syria, a U.S. military front man said Monday as al-Qaeda's offshoot in the war-torn country say Russia is ignoring ISIS.The move follows the Pentagon's announcement last week that it would halt its much-criticized program to train moderate rebels, and instead focus efforts on equipping pre-screened rebel leaders from groups actively fighting ISIS.
Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based front man for the U.S.-led effort to strike ISIS in Iraq and Syria, said the ammunition had gone to a group called the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) that has for months been fighting ISIS across an arc of territory north of the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.
The coalition, comprising several smaller Arab groups, includes between 4,000 and 5,000 fighters and US forces have carefully vetted the group's leader, Warren said.
The United States and its allies could eventually strike ISIS targets identified by SAC fighters on the ground, he added.
"Coalition forces conducted an airdrop Sunday in northern Syria to resupply local counter-ISIL ground forces as they conduct operations against ISIL," U.S. Central Command front man Colonel Patrick Ryder said in a statement, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official told AFP the drop included 50 tons of ammunition and hand grenades.
| Place yer bets, ladies and gents, on how long before almost all of it falls into the hands of ISIS or al Nusra. |