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US to Continue Aiding Syria Rebels Amid Clashes With CIA-Armed Groups

© AP Photo / Muhammed MuheisenSyrian rebels attend a training session in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria in 2012.
Syrian rebels attend a training session in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria in 2012. - Sputnik International
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The US-led coalition against Daesh remains committed to supporting local groups in Iraq and Syria to fight the terrorist group, a US defense official told Sputnik on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The official made the statement in response to media reports claiming that militias in Syria armed by the US Department of Defense have engaged in fights against groups armed by the Central Intelligence Agency.

"We've seen the press reporting on this, but don't have anything to provide," the official stated. "The Coalition remains focused on enabling indigenous anti-ISIL [Daesh] ground forces in Iraq and Syria in their fight against the terrorist group."

Free Syrian Army fighters carry a weapon during what they said was preparations for an operation to strike at forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in order to break a siege on the city of Beit Gin located in western countryside of Damascus in Deraa, Syria September 30, 2015 - Sputnik International
Oops! Obama Makes Pentagon and CIA Clash in Syria
Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the United States and its allies have provided military support to allegedly moderate opposition factions, and have called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign.

The local groups received aid from both, the Defense Department and the CIA.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the fighting between CIA- and Defense Department-armed units in Syria has intensified over the last two months. The clashes have reportedly taken place on the plains between the Syrian city of Aleppo and the Turkish border.

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