Saudi Arabia accused of arming Al Qaeda

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CNN reported that Saudi authorities buy weapons from the United States and then supply them with the al-Qaida terrorist organization (banned in the Russian Federation), as well as other groups. This violates the conditions under which Washington cooperates with Riyadh in the field of armaments.



Referring to the results of its own investigation, the television channel accused the Saudi kingdom of acquiring weapons purchased from the United States against militants who have ties to al-Qaeda, Salafi and other groups fighting in Yemen.

Moreover, as a result of such activities, American weapons as trophies fall to armed groups associated with Iran. Because of this, Washington fears that the secret Technology will be at Tehran, and this is a threat to the US military, located in other areas of the Middle East.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, according to CNN, is engaged in similar activities. These countries use weapons supplied by Washington as a “currency", buying the loyalty of various armed groups. At the same time, the channel refers to information received from field commanders.

For example, the Oshkosh M-ATV armored vehicles were at the disposal of the Abu Abbas organization, which in 2017 was considered terrorist in Washington. And the hands of the notorious Al Qaeda fell TOW anti-tank systems.

The authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia say that they are transferring American weapons to their allies in the fight against organizations associated with Iran. But militants often use it against civilians during the seizure of settlements.

The Pentagon confirms that such use of weapons is a violation of the terms of their supply by Riyadh.

The investigation conducted by the channel is connected with the tragic story of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the building of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Because of this crime, many policy they demanded that US President Donald Trump end his cooperation with Saudi Arabia, but the American leader believes that this is not in Washington’s interests. Trump fears that in this case, instead of the United States, arms to the Saudis will be sold to Russia and China.
  • independent.co.uk
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