Pentagon: Four US trained fighters remain in Syria

Only four or five Syrian fighters of the 54 trained by the American army remain, a senior US army official has revealed.

In a clear admission that there have been lapses in the new military training programme, Army General Lloyd Austin III, chief of US Central Command, revealed that the remaining opposition fighters have all been killed or captured.

The American training and arming of Syrian opposition groups had a rocky start when the US was unable to recruit more than 54 volunteers; it had aimed to train 5,400 fighters. The US insists on making the fight against Daesh a priority over fighting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad which opposition groups reject.

The training programme in Syria has faced problems choosing suitable participants since it began in May. The Pentagon had set strict conditions and criteria for choosing those suitable to participate in the training, ruling out thousands who had applied.

The first batch of fighters was attacked by Al-Nusra Front when they entered Syria in late July and early August. Al-Nusra killed and captured many fighters while the others separated.

Austin admitted before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the first goals of the training programme were not achieved because of the current pace, which he described as being slower than expected. He also added that the American army is conducting a serious review of the training programme, but said that the number of Syrians will grow with time.

Christine Wormuth, the under-secretary of Defence for Policy, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there are currently only between 100 and 120 fighters in the Syrian training programme.