The Pentagon on Thursday restated its commitment to protecting U.S.-trained Syrian troops, but acknowledged that it does not even know the location of the entire first group of trainees.
Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that the military does not know the status and location of all 54 U.S.-trained Syrian troops currently in the fight against the Islamic State.
“We can’t get a detailed muster of them at any time,” he said.
U.S.-backed Syrian forces were attacked on Friday by about 50 members of the al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group al-Nusra, but repelled the attack with the help of a U.S. airstrike. A defense official said earlier this week one U.S.-trained fighter had been killed in that attack and that five more had been captured in the days since.
When asked if Syrians currently going through the U.S. train-and-equip program were dropping out because of the incident, Davis said the number of trainees changes daily, but declined to give any specific figures.
He could not say if anyone had volunteered to join the program since the attack and capture.
Davis also said that the military was anticipating attacks on Syrian forces before it put them into battle.
“We never had any illusions about the challenges we would face on the ground in Syria,” he said. “The idea that we were caught totally flat-footed … is not accurate.”
