Syria crisis: 'Only four or five' US-trained Syrian rebels are still fighting

A US scheme to train Syrian rebels to fight

Islamic State (IS) militants has been branded a
total failure after a US general admitted only
four or five were still fighting.
Congress approved $500m (£323m) to train and
equip around 5,000 rebels as a key plank of US
strategy against IS.

But the first 54 graduates were routed by an al-
Qaeda affiliate, Gen Lloyd Austin told
lawmakers.
Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte said the number
remaining was a "joke".
"We have to acknowledge this is a total failure. I
wish it weren't so, but that's the fact," said
another Republican Senator, Jeff Sessions.
'Small number'
Gen Austin, who heads the US military's Central
Command (Centcom) was appearing before the
Senate Armed Services Committee.
Asked how many US trained rebels were fighting
he said: "It's a small number... we're talking four
or five."

He said there was clearly no way of meeting the
goal of 5,000 recruits a year, but urged patience.
"It is taking a bit longer to get things done, but it
must be this way if we are to achieve lasting
and positive effects."
Appearing alongside him, Christine Wormuth,
Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, said
around 100 more rebels were currently in
training.
She said the reason for the low numbers was
the vetting process used, with the US only
recruiting rebels wanting to fight IS rather than
Syrian government forces.
It is not clear what happened to all of the initial
group attacked in northern Syria - some were
killed, others captured, while the rest scattered.
Gen Austin also promised "appropriate actions" if
an investigation found than senior defence
officials doctored intelligence to downplay IS and
al-Qaeda strength in Syria.

The allegations that intelligence analysts' reports
were being manipulated first emerged in the
Daily Beast earlier this month.

Source: BBC News