US intelligence officers are secretly regulating weapons smuggling to armed groups in Syria along the Turkish border, New York Times reported.
US intelligence officers are secretly regulating weapons smuggling to armed groups in Syria along the Turkish border.
According to a report published by the US daily, New York Times, CIA officers have been secretly operating near Turkey's border with Syria, in an attempt to ensure that weapons 
meant for Syrian opposition groups do not end up in militias aligned with al-Qaeda.
“A small number of C.I.A. officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey, helping allies decide which Syrian opposition fighters across the border will receive arms to fight the Syrian government,” the daily said.
The daily quoted a US official as saying that a small group of CIA officials have been stationed in southeast Turkey, where they were regulate the influx of automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and anti-tank weapons to the various rebel factions.
“The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the officials said.”
NYT also cited an Arab intelligence official, who said that clandestine American attempts were geared at collecting information on the various opposition groups, as well as "to make new sources and recruit people."
In addition, the newspaper noted that American officials and retired CIA operatives indicated that the administration of US President Barack Obama was considering other ways of assisting the armed groups, such as satellite imagery and detailed intelligence on Syrian troop locations and movements.
“The C.I.A. officers have been in southern Turkey for several weeks, in part to help keep weapons out of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, one senior American official said. The Obama administration has said it is not providing arms to the rebels, but it has also acknowledged that Syria’s neighbors would do so.”
