De tilfangetagne militante sagde ifølge ministeriet, at de var fra "Lions" i "East Army group", som er knyttet til Free Syrian Army. Henved 500 militante var baseret i de militantes lejr lokaliseret i nærheden af den amerikanskledede internationale koalitions Al-Tanf militærbase.
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The militants were to carry out "a series of terrorist attacks in Palmyra area" and ensure the passage of around 300 fighters to capture the city within the next week, the ministry said. One of the captured militants said that they were trained by US instructors, and that the group was receiving weapons and ammunition from the US base.
Al-Tanf base is close to the Rukban refugee camp, which contains over 60,000 women and children from the cities of Raqqa and Der ez-Zor.
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