ISIS get hands on US missiles meant for friendly rebel forces in Syria

If true, the US-led coalition could face the deadly farce of fighting an enemy which is armed to the teeth with weapons meant for friendly forces.

It is thought the missiles are based north of Kweires Airbase, which was recently liberated from Isis by the Syrian army.

The Isis-held area in that part of Syria is next to the Turkish border.

How the US-made arms fell into enemy hands is unclear. But previous reports indicated US-backed rebels have been recieving heavy weapons and it is possible they could have been sold on via an illicit international arms trade.

An ex-ISIS member recently told Russian news agency Sputnik that he engaged in basic training and target practice for the group while inside Turkish territory.

The apparent own goal for the US militatry comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin beefs up his counter-terrorism operational headquarters to be set up in several coastal areas.

The units are to be set in Kaspiysk on the Caspian Sea, Murmansk in Russia's north-west and in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Russia's eastern coast, Interfax news agency said. 

Putin also ordered a similar operation to be set up in Crimea's capital of Simferopol – the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Meanwhile a purported audio message by Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said air strikes by Russia and by the US-led coalition had failed to weaken the group.

He said: "Be confident that God will grant victory to those who worship him, and hear the good news that our state is doing well.

"The more intense the war against it, the purer it becomes and the tougher it gets."

It was posted on Saturday on Twitter accounts that usually publish Islamic State statements.

(dailystar.co.uk)