The commander of a group of Syrian fighters trained by the United States has been kidnapped by Al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, his group said Thursday.
Syrian commander of U.S.-trained fighters is kidnapped by Al-Qaida affiliate
July 30, 2015 at 11:04PM
The commander, Nadeem Hassan, and seven of his fighters were taken by the Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, as they were returning from a meeting in Turkey.
A contingent of 54 fighters from Hassan's group, known as Division 30, are the only ones who have graduated from a Pentagon program to train Syrian rebels to fight ISIL in Syria. One of the fighters taken with Hassan was his deputy, Farhan Al-Jasem, who commands the fighters who graduated from the U.S. training program.
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Cmdr. Elissa Smith, would not say if any trainees of its program had been taken in Syria. Working with the Americans can make insurgent fighters a target for hard-line jihadists.
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In interviews with the Star Tribune, Ryan described life before and after the Russian invasion in the country, where she’s worked to secure the border and help refugees flee war-torn areas.
