US-Made Anti-Tank Weapons in Hands of Syrian Gunmen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Armed opposition groups in Syria from the Harakat Hazm group appeared on Youtube videos operating what appears to be American-manufactured BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), World Bulletin news website reported.
Filmed around the Idlib region and published between on 1 and 5 April, three videos show the gunmen firing the weapon from the back of a vehicle. Although it is too soon to jump to conclusions regarding how they acquired the weapon, the 1963-made BGM-71 TOW is known to have been sold to 40 countries worldwide and stocked in the Zionist entity, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Morocco, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Turkey.
Without directly accusing the US of providing the weapons to the opposition fighters, The Huffington Post noted that no allied country in possession of BGM-71 TOWs could pass them on to a third party without prior approval from Washington, unless they were obtained by illicit means.
Formed as a coalition of 12 minor armed groups in January 2014, the Harakat Hazm is led by Murshid al-Khalid (Abu al-Muatassim), Mohammad al-Dahik (Abu Hatem), Secretary General Bilal Atar (Abu Abd al-Sham) military operations chief Awdu Abu Zaid and political affairs head Hamza Shamali (Abu Hashem). It is also believed to have links to ousted general of the so-called 'Free Syrian Army' (FSA) Selim Idriss.
