CIA arms for Syrian opposition 'supplied to black market'
According to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera, weapons shipped by the CIA and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market.
US officials say the CIA has trained thousands of rebels
Some startling revelations have been made showing that weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian opposition groups by the Washington's premier intelligence agency winded up at the wrong address.
According to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera, weapons shipped by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market.
Some of the stolen weapons were also used against US citizens as well.
Two US security contractors were killed in a shooting in November at a US-funded police training facility in the Jordanian capital Amman. Three other also died in the same shooting incident.
Syrian rebel training is classified in the US and a government secret in Jordan
The facility was set up to help Iraq rebuild its post-war security forces after the 2003 US invasion and to train Palestinian Authority police officers.
Citing American and Jordanian officials, the report disclosed that the weapons used in the shooting had originally arrived in Jordan for the Syrian opposition training programme.
Jordanian officers who are part of the scam earn lump sums of money from the sale of weapons, using the profits to buy iPhones, SUVs and other luxury items, according to the report, which cited Jordanian officials.
The report says that representatives of the CIA and FBI declined to comment. However, the State Department did not address the allegations directly, but a spokesman said US ties with Jordan remained solid.
Mohammad H. al Momani, Jordan's minister of state for media affairs, said the allegations were "absolutely incorrect."
"Weapons of our security institutions are concretely tracked, with the highest discipline," he said.
Rebels demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony at a training camp near Damascus
The investigation report says that Jordanian and US officials revealed the weapons theft and subsequent investigation on the condition of anonymity because the Syrian opposition training programme is classified in the United States and is a government secret in Jordan.
The training programme is run by the CIA and several Arab intelligence services and began directly arming the opposition under the code name Timber Sycamore in 2013.
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