04 May 2016•Update: 05 May 2016
LONDON
Evidence of collusion between the Syrian regime and Daesh has been purportedly uncovered by British broadcaster Sky News.
A series of letters obtained by the channel show agreement between Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Daesh terrorists to agree military withdrawals and trade oil for fertilizer.
In a program posted to the broadcaster’s website Wednesday, copies of hand written orders show how Daesh agreed to withdraw its forces from Palmyra before regime troops advanced on the city last month.
“Withdraw all heavy artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns from in and around Palmyra to Raqqah province,” the copy of a document sent from Daesh’s headquarters said.
A Daesh defector confirmed to Sky News journalist Stuart Ramsay that the terror group was coordinating the movement of its fighters with the Syrian army and the Russian air force.
Another file from November 2013 referred to the transfer of equipment and weapons to an evacuation point because “intelligence” had been received that a bombing raid was expected.
The documents also showed the Daesh has been training foreign fighters to attack the West for years -- much longer than previously believed.
Sky News said it had been unable to verify the documents, which are part of a haul of 22,000 files obtained by the broadcaster, but said previous leaks of material from the same source “have proved to be genuine”.
