About 80,000 terrorists entered Syria from Turkey

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari said on June 22 that about 80,000 foreign-backed terrorists have infiltrated Syria via Türkiye.

IS terrorists. Photo: Independent‎.

Mr. Ja'afari told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam TV channel that members of the terrorist groups Jaish al-Fath and Jaish al-Yarmouk, which operate under the command of the al-Nusra Front, which is loyal to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, had received foreign training.

A Syrian official has said that "some Arab countries and world powers" do not want the mission of UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to succeed.

Mr. Ja'afari added that the Syrian government is in the process of preparing to promote a political solution to the crisis in the country.

In its latest report released on June 19, the US State Department said that throughout 2014, Türkiye was a "transit route" for foreign terrorists wanting to enter Syria.

Also on June 22, the Pentagon said that Syrian rebels receiving military training from the US to fight Islamic State (IS) militants are paid between $250 and $400 per month depending on their skills, activities and leadership positions.

It is unclear how many Syrian rebels have been paid. Last week, US Defense Department spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said up to 200 Syrian fighters were being trained and an additional 1,500 had completed the necessary screening process.

(According to VN+)