Al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front has abducted the leader of a US-backed Syrian rebel group in the north of the country, opposition sources and a monitor group told AFP, dealing a blow to Washington’s struggling train-and-equip program to battle Daesh.
A statement released by “Division 30” accused Nusra Front of abducting their leader Nadim al-Hasan and a number of his companions in a rural area north of Aleppo, AFP reported.
A Syrian activist and an opposition source told AFP most of the 54 fighters who completed a train-and-equip in neighboring Turkey were from Division 30.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the men were abducted as they were returning from a meeting in Azaz.
Nusra Front has proven itself effective against US-backed rebel groups in Syria. Last year, it routed the Syria Revolutionaries Front led by Jamal Maarouf, viewed as one of the most powerful opposition leaders before his defeat, AFP reported.
