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Syrian authorities uncovered loads of weapons, ammunition and military equipment during recent search operations in the southern governorate of Daraa, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported on December 26.
A military source told the state-run agency that the authorities uncovered a number of weapons caches and seized arms which were prepared for smuggling.
The uncovered weapons included assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, landmines, tank shells and loads of ammunition of different caliber.
Syrian authorities also found a dysfunctional D-30 122 mm howitzer, a small quadcopter drone and communication equipment.
In September and October, thousands of Daraa locals handed over loads of weapons to Syrian authorities as a part of a reconciliation process that was sponsored by Russia. The process also allowed the authorities to conduct search operations in the governorate on a regular basis.
While some of the seized weapons were likely stolen from Syrian military stockpiles in the early years of the war, most of them were likely supplied by the US and its allies to Syrian opposition armed groups on the hopes of toppling the regime in Damascus.
Currently, some US-supplied weapons are being sold on the black market. Terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are among the main buyers.
