An Arabic-speaking man trails behind rebels carrying what appears to be telescopic sights, a long barrel attached with a turret, and what inevitably must be missiles.It's a gritty sequence, as the bouncing footsteps follow the rebels to a position where they begin assembling their war machine. A quick shot pans to a far-off target in a field that looks to be an artillery battery, then back to what appears to be a fully assembled Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) launcher.
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Finally the target is destroyed in a dusty explosion. "Allahu Akhbar!"What you just saw was likely the result of a geopolitical game the American government is playing in the Middle East: arming specific Syrian rebels with weapons tech against a mixed bag of enemies in ISIS and Assad forces.Videos of ATGM launchers in action, shot and uploaded by rebels, have been appearing online for the better part of a year. Analysts have speculated their appearance on Syrian battlefields likely equals American support and supply.This particular video was posted on the official Youtube channel of a rebel group active in Latakia, Syria. The group in the video also looks to be a recently united "free" rebel group and the type the US has known to support in the past.Indeed, in an episode of Frontline entitled "Arming the Rebels" investigating the clandestine efforts of the US in Syria, a BGM-71 TOW is briefly seen in rebel hands. The footage appears to be from from several FSA rebel groups including Harakat Hazm and is very similar to the above.
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