According to the recent video released by the ISIS, US airdrops of supplies and weapons meant for Kurdish forces were intercepted by the jihadists. The US forces started airdropping supplies Sunday to Kurdish soldiers defending Kobani against the Islamic State militants.
As reported by CNN, in the surrounded Syrian city of Kobani, medical supplies are desperately needed to treat local fighters and civilians wounded during the siege of this critical town near the Turkish border. As Kurdish defenders attempt to beat back the ISIS militants, US forces were airdropping weapons and supplies into the city.
In a press release by the US Central Command, Air Force C-130 plane have airdropped about 30 parachute pallets containing weapons, ammunitions and medical supplies in and around Kobane to assist the Kurds. However by Tuesday, it appeared that at least one of those was intercepted by the ISIS militants.
The Washington Post reported ISIS has released a new video in which it flaunts the recovered weapons and supplies that the militants have intercepted when the US military airdropped them to Kurdish fighters, who were stuck in a battle against the extremists over the control of the Syrian border town of Kobani.
Prior to the day the video was released, US Central Command or CENTCOM confirmed that one package had gone off course. However, the agency claimed it had destroyed the bundle after it went astray.
"In Syria, six airstrikes near Kobani destroyed ISIL fighting and mortar positions, an ISIL vehicle, and one stray resupply bundle from a U.S. airdrop of Kurdish supplies that occurred earlier today (Syria time), which prevented these supplies from falling into enemy hands," CENTCOM press release stated. "All other resupply bundles were successfully delivered."
Meanwhile, Pentagon Spokesperson Rear Adm. John Kirby spoke after the video was released saying that it was not clear if the stray package had been successfully destroyed or not.
"We're aware that one bundle did not make it into the right hands and you saw the CENTCOM release indicating that they destroyed it from the air," Kirby said when asked about the video.
"All of that doesn't take away from the notion that this video is out there and that it could in fact be that bundle. We just don't know. We're still looking at it," he added while stressing that the majority of supplies ended up in the right hands.
Meanwhile, US officials said Tuesday they could not confirm the video's authenticity but were conducting investigation of the claims.
As stated by The Hill, Pentagon officials confirmed Wednesday a second US airdropped package had also gone off course and ended up in ISIS' hands.
"We have determined a second bundle also went astray," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren stated. He also acknowledged that when airdropping supplies, "There's always going to be some margin of error. Wind can cause a parachute to move off its intended target."
Warren also expressed there was no evidence that other packages airdropped by the US forces have intercepted by the ISIS militants. He added the issue is not if any concern to them and one bundle would not give the insurgents any significant advantage.
The Pentagon spokesman explained the US' decision to airdrop the supplies, since bringing them to Kurdish forces on the ground will be far too dangerous to them.
The lost weapons from the US airdrop that was intercepted by the ISIS was more than an embarrassment than a great strategic lost, according to Fox News.
The Islamic State jihadists already possess millions of dollars-worth of US artillery that they has seized from fleeing Iraqi soldiers when they took control of swaths of Iraq in a sudden sweep in June.
While the US airdrops intended for the Kurdish forces were intercepted by ISIS, the Kurdish fighters have halted the extremists' advance in Kobani for several days. Defense officials said Kurdish militaries still controlled a majority of the town.
