Syrian fighters supported by US, UK reveal they had been given advance warning regarding impending collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime
Date
12/24/2024 5:38:47 AM
(MENAFN) Syrian fighters, trained and funded by the United States and Britain, revealed to The Telegraph that they had been given advance warning about the impending collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Members of the Revolutionary Commando Army, a group allied with the U.S. against ISIS, received briefings from U.S. special forces that stated, "This is your moment," before the regime’s downfall. In a rare disclosure of Washington’s prior knowledge of the offensive, fighters explained that they had been instructed to increase their forces and prepare for an attack that could potentially end Assad's rule. Captain Bashar al-Mashhadani, a commander in the Revolutionary Commando Army, shared that they were not given details on how the regime would fall, but were told to be ready for significant change: "Either Assad falls, or you fall."
In the weeks leading up to this briefing at the U.S.-controlled al-Tanf airbase on the Iraq-Syria border, smaller autonomous units were absorbed into the Revolutionary Commando Army, bolstering its strength. The operation advanced toward Damascus, with U.S. military commanders directing the fight to prevent remnants of ISIS from exploiting the power vacuum that Assad's fall would create. The U.S.-backed operation targeted strategic locations like Palmyra, a city once held by ISIS and vital in the fight against the group. The fighters who seized the Russian-controlled airbase near Palmyra said they had been instructed to prepare for Assad's potential collapse in early November, weeks before the offensive that eventually toppled the regime on December 8. Previously, Captain al-Mashhadani had been the second-in-command of the Abu al-Khattab Brigade, a small unit trained by U.S. and British forces. This brigade, along with others, was later brought under joint command to form the Revolutionary Commando Army.
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