Govt to probe training to Syrian rebels: Karzai

KABUL’s lawless regions.

On Friday, Lavrov told reporters: “Not so long ago, information emerged that third countries have been illegally using regions of Afghanistan not under Kabul’s control to train rebels to fight against the Syrian regime, including by training them in the use of deadly chemical substances.”

But President Karzai told a news conference on Saturday night it was a serious issue for the country’s security if Syrian rebels received such training in Afghanistan.

In the presence of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Karzai said his government would not hesitate from taking a stern against to prevent such an activity.

He said Afghanistan allies, who have come here as part of the international war on terrorism, would be asked to help clear the issue.

“According to our information, the infamous Al-Nusra Front is planning to illegally deliver to Iraq poisonous agents and corresponding specialists in order to organise acts of terror on the territory of Iraq,” said Lavrov, but did not spell out where or when Russia received such reports or what countries were allegedly training the Syrian rebels in Afghanistan.

Moscow accuses the rebels of staging an August 21 chemical attack near Damascus that Washington blames on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and believes killed more than 1,400 people.

mds/ma

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