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Update:
The Pentagon confirmed today that one of the 28 bundles of weapons and medical supplies airdropped by U.S. forces to Kurdish fighters in Syria “most likely” fell into enemy hands, but that a majority “reached their intended recipients.
“One bundle worth of equipment is not enough equipment to give the enemy any type of advantage at all,” Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Steve Warren told reporters. “It’s a relatively small amount of supplies. This is stuff ISIL already has.”
A second airdropped bundle with similar contents also went off course, Warren said, but it was destroyed by fighter aircraft soon after it hit the ground. It’s possible that wind could have driven the packages off course, he said.
Original Post:
Airdropping arms and ammunition in and around the heavily contested town of Kobani has always been a tricky operation given the risk that they could fall into the wrong hands, such as into the hands of the ISIL terrorists in and around the beleaguered town.
Apparently such has just happened.
The Stars and Stripes reports that, after a video surfaced on YouTube seemingly showing ISIL terrorists rummaging through boxes of weapons that were airdropped by U.S. C-130 aircraft, one or more bundles of weapons intended for Kurdish forces may have ended up in the hands of the terrorist group.
The Stars and Stripes:
On Sunday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had airdropped small arms, ammunition and medical supplies to resupply beleaguered Kurdish forces who have been defending Kobani.
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Officials have said they’re only aware of one bundle of the 28 dropped that didn’t make it to the Kurds. On Monday, CENTCOM said it had destroyed that bundle in an airstrike to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
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On Tuesday, Kirby said the Pentagon is “pretty confident” that no other bundles went off target, but couldn’t rule out the possibility, or that the Islamic State recovered the one that missed the mark.
Just a short time ago, the Stars and Stripes reported that the video appears authentic, according to Associate Press sources:
State group fighters seized at least one cache of weapons airdropped by U.S.-led coalition forces that were meant to supply Kurdish militiamen battling the extremist group in a border town, activists said Tuesday.
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The cache of weapons included hand grenades, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, according to a video uploaded by a media group loyal to the Islamic State group.
However, the report adds, “But the lost weapons drop was more an embarrassment than a great strategic loss. The Islamic State militants already possess millions of dollars-worth of U.S. weaponry that they captured from fleeing Iraqi soldiers when the group seized swaths of Iraq in a sudden sweep in June.”
In the meantime, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today that Kurdish forces are in control of the majority of the Syrian city of Kobani despite efforts by the ISIL to take the town:
“ISIL forces continue to threaten [Kobani],” Kirby said. “We’re continuing to hit targets in and around there to help the Kurdish forces as they continue to fight against ISIL. So it’s still a very mixed, contested environment.”
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Kirby gave credit to the Kurdish forces that have fought ISIL to a standstill.
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ISIL is presenting more targets to coalition aircraft and to Iraqi forces, Kirby said. Coalition forces launched seven airstrikes yesterday, and with the weather in the region improving, Kirby said he expects more attacks on the terror group in the coming days. With better weather, “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms are able to fly a little bit more now,” he explained.
Lead photo: C-130 airdrop. DOD file photo.
