Three militants from the Mahavir al-Saura group, who were detained and taken to the Syrian city of Tadmor near Palmyra, said that they were tasked with collecting information about Russian objects.
"We are from Mahavir as-Saura. Our group consisted of eight people: seven fighters and one guide, who is engaged in smuggling and transporting personnel and drugs. We went on motorcycles to complete the task, and got into a minefield," one of the detained militants, Jasem al-Ali, told reporters.
According to him, several people were killed when they were hit by a mine. "We got lost and didn't know where to go, because the guide was killed, and we started looking for a way out, continued moving. Then we were captured, and the Syrian troops took us here, " the militant added.
He noted that the task of the armed group was to collect information. "We were sent to perform a task in the province of Raqqa, in the city of al-Mansura. < ... > We had to get information about Russian, Iranian and Syrian objects," the detainee said, explaining that the group was traveling from the village of el-Tanf.
According to the detainees, they received several thousand dollars from the curators to complete the task. "But the commander of the group Yazan had all the money. He hit a mine and we lost everything," said the second detainee Abdullah al-Mishuat.
The militants admit that before participating in illegal formations, some of them worked in civilian professions. In particular, the third detainee Muhammed Taeshmellan said that he was a baker in the refugee camp of Rukban.
"Then it became impossible to work in a bakery in Rukban, and I decided to move to the bakery of Mahavir as-Saura. I worked for them in the bakery, the monthly salary was $ 400. Then I had conflicts, and they decided to send me to a strong point as a private, " he said.
All three are now being held in detention at the Syrian army base in the city of Tadmor. The Syrian military found machine guns, grenades, a large amount of ammunition, as well as money and drugs. The Syrian security services will check their statements and try to establish their involvement in other illegal operations.
In addition, a militant from Mahavir al-Saura, who was detained near the city of Tadmor near Palmyra, said that he was trained under the supervision of American instructors.
"We were taught to handle all types of weapons by American instructors. All the weapons were American-made. I have seen American instructors, they come to train, but trainings themselves are conducted by Syrians. Americans watch from afar, check and evaluate the progress of training. The training was difficult, they lasted for two or three hours, not less," the detainee Abdullah al-Mishuat said.
According to him, the militants were trained using American weapons, but the gang members went to the task with Russian submachine guns.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti