“The back-and-forth accusations have caused many to ignore several international reports. When [Sen. John] McCain visited some of the Syrian rebels, it was as if he was totally unaware that a large percentage of the fighters were from al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQII), al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al-Nusra and others,” McCallister noted.
Some American counterterrorism analysts believe President Barack Obama’s interest in capitalizing on the fear of chemical weapons is to encourage foreign intervention as occurred in Libya and Egypt. The goal is toppling the administration of President Bashar al-Assad and the Ba’ath Party by any means necessary.
Over the course of the weekend, the SANA news agency reported that among the terrorists slain by the Assad forces were Khaled Othman, the leader of the so-called “Andan Oqla Battalion” terrorist group, Abdul-Min’em Dyab, the leader of the so-called “al-Mout Battalion” terrorist group, Abdul-Hadi Meznazi, the leader of the so-called “al-Ansar and al-Sharia ” terrorist group which is affiliated to Jabhet al-Nusra, Abdul-Rahman Barakat, the leader of the so-called “al-Tasleeh battalion” terrorist group, Mohammad al-Hara, Mohammad Sweif, Mustafa Ziad, Tareq Rahmoun and Khaled Ja’moor.
On Monday, May 31, Turkish security forces also reported that they discovered a cylinder containing sarin gas when searching the homes of Syrian militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front who were previously detained, the Turkish media reported. The gas was reportedly going to be used in a bomb.
Turkish special anti-terror forces arrested 12 suspected members of the Al-Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda affiliated group which has been dubbed “the most aggressive and successful arm” of the Syrian rebels. The group was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in December, according to Russia’s TV Novista.
Syrian Islamists may be plotting sarin gas attacks by Jim Kouri, CPP syndicated from The Land of the Free.