WASHINGTON: The US military is currently working with “dozens” of Syrian rebels under a revamped train-and-equip program implemented after a much-criticized initiative collapsed last year, an official said Friday.

The Pentagon drew heavy fire last October after admitting its $500-million efforts to train entire units of “moderate” Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000 or so.

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