U.S. officials said an Al Qaeda-linked group launched an attack Friday morning against a compound in Syria where rebels trained and equipped by the U.S., as well as other moderate Syrian rebels, were located.
The Pentagon as of late Friday was still gathering information about whether and how many fighters were killed or injured.
Few details were available, but the Pentagon issued a statement saying “members of the New Syrian Forces along with members of the 30th Division of the Free Syrian Army were attacked by an unknown force of about 50 personnel. The NSF, alongside 30th DIV fighters, successfully repelled the unprovoked attack.”
The Pentagon said that for security reasons, the names of those involved and the location of the attack would not be disclosed.
The statement also reiterated the U.S. commitment “to the success of the NSF.”
The NSF refers to the 60 Syrian fighters trained and equipped by the U.S. The 30th Division is made up of other Syrian rebels that the U.S. has deemed moderate and is working with as well. Defense officials said they hope to get some of them into the train-and-equip program.
The attack is believed to have been conducted by al Nusra, an al Qaeda affiliated group in Syria. U.S. officials said the rebels at the compound were able to call in coalition airstrikes to repel the attackers.
The Nusra Front claimed in a statement posted to Twitter and retweeted by several al Nusra Front supporters that it had captured a number of Syrian rebels trained by U.S. forces.
However, Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith said, “While we will not disclose the names of specific groups involved with the Syria Train and Equip program, I can confirm that there have been no New Syrian Force personnel captured or detained.”