Terrorists trained by US cross into Syria

Hundreds of terrorists trained by the United States have joined the foreign-backed militants who are fighting against the Damascus government, a spokesman for the militants says.

An unnamed militant commander said on Friday that 300 militants, who have received advanced military training from American officers at a camp in neighboring Jordan, crossed the border into Syria on Thursday.

He said that the group has been taught to use heavy weaponry including anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons against Syrian army forces, adding that more militants are currently undergoing training.

US officials have so far refrained from commenting on the matter.

Washington has already pledged USD60 million in aid to the opposition so-called Syrian National Coalition.

The development comes as the European foreign ministers rejected Franco-British efforts to lift an EU arms embargo on Syria.

French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron are pushing for the embargo to be lifted and trying to supply arms to militants.

European countries, including Germany, Austria and Sweden, say Syria is already awash in guns and needs no more and that a flood of weapons into the country would only escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said lifting the ban is “counterproductive and will not lead to a solution” to the ongoing crisis in the Arab country.

The 27-member bloc imposed an arms embargo against Syria, which is applied to both the Syrian government and the opposition, in April 2011 and it is scheduled to remain in effect until May, when it will either be renewed or lifted.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.