Five U.S.-trained Syrian rebels have been captured by extremist fighters since last week, a defense official said Tuesday.
The capture of the New Syrian Forces is forcing defense officials to look at how U.S.-trained fighters should be used in the battle against the Islamic State in Syria since the current strategy is “obviously not working,” the official said.
About 50 extremist fighters attacked U.S.-trained rebels and members of the vetted 30th Division on Friday, killing one New Syrian Force fighter and capturing several members of the 30th Division, the official said, before the moderate rebels called in defensive U.S. air strikes.
Capt. Jeff Davis, Pentagon spokesman, said earlier this week that the attack looked like it was orchestrated by al-Nusra, a terrorist group that publicly claimed credit for the attack, but could not confirm that the al-Qaeda affiliate was involved.
Since that Friday attack, five U.S.-trained members of the New Syrian Forces have been captured, though the official couldn’t provide information on how or where they were taken.
With the U.S. promising to protect the Syrians it puts through training from broader threats, it’s unclear how or if the U.S. will try to rescue the Syrian forces taken captive, but the defense official said they will not be treated like captured U.S. troops.
