Πηγή: WAtoday
By AP
August 10 2012
Al-Qaeda has advanced beyond isolated pockets of activity in Syria and now is building a network of well-organised cells, according to US intelligence officials.
They fear the terrorists could be on the verge of establishing an Iraq-like foothold that would be hard to defeat if rebels eventually oust President Bashar Assad.
At least a couple of hundred al-Qaeda-linked militants are already operating in Syria, and their ranks are growing as foreign fighters stream into the Arab country daily, current and former US intelligence officials say.
The units are spreading from city to city, with veterans of the Iraq insurgency employing their expertise in bomb-building to carry out more than two dozen attacks so far.
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Others are using their experience in coordinating small units of fighters in Afghanistan to win new followers.
In Syria on Friday, rebel commanders appealed anew for new and better weapons from abroad, complaining that Assad's forces have them badly outgunned from the air and on the ground.
In fact, rebel leaders say that with so little aid coming to them from the US and other nations, they are slowly losing the battle for influence against hardline militants.
They say their fighters are sometimes siding with extremists who are better funded and armed so they can fight the far stronger Syrian army.
US officials have repeatedly rejected providing any lethal assistance to the conflict that has killed at least 19,000 people over the past 17 months.
They fear the terrorists could be on the verge of establishing an Iraq-like foothold that would be hard to defeat if rebels eventually oust President Bashar Assad.
At least a couple of hundred al-Qaeda-linked militants are already operating in Syria, and their ranks are growing as foreign fighters stream into the Arab country daily, current and former US intelligence officials say.
The units are spreading from city to city, with veterans of the Iraq insurgency employing their expertise in bomb-building to carry out more than two dozen attacks so far.
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Others are using their experience in coordinating small units of fighters in Afghanistan to win new followers.
In Syria on Friday, rebel commanders appealed anew for new and better weapons from abroad, complaining that Assad's forces have them badly outgunned from the air and on the ground.
In fact, rebel leaders say that with so little aid coming to them from the US and other nations, they are slowly losing the battle for influence against hardline militants.
They say their fighters are sometimes siding with extremists who are better funded and armed so they can fight the far stronger Syrian army.
US officials have repeatedly rejected providing any lethal assistance to the conflict that has killed at least 19,000 people over the past 17 months.
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