DISINFO: The U.S. evacuate Daesh members from Syria
SUMMARY
The US-led coalition is often accused of supporting terrorist groups in Syria, including organizing safe passage and extraction from encirclements and hot zones. Videos have appeared on YouTube and Facebook allegedly showing the process of transportation of the terrorists. The source from the town of al-Hasakah (north-east part of Syria) has told Sputnik on the condition of anonymity that local people have witnessed US helicopters landing multiple times on the territory of the local prison, controlled by Kurds, and then leaving. According to the source, they were taking away some of the Daesh (banned in Russia) terrorists, detained in that prison.
RESPONSE
It is indeed true, as the article in Sputnik claims, that the US-led coalition is often accused of supporting terrorist groups in Syria, however there is never any evidence given. This time, Sputnik refers to anonymous "local people" and a video of a helicopter. The helicopter shown in the video is a Sikorsky S-92, not used by U.S. military forces. Tyler Rogoway of Aviation Intel, on Twitter, has identified the helicopter in question as having been registered to a U.S.-based firm. The article provides a photo of what appears to be the same helicopter with members of the Asayish, the police force of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. If this is indeed the same helicopter and it is used by members of the Asayish, there would be nothing unusual about it visiting a prison in al-Hasakah. There is no reason or evidence given to assume the helicopter is evacuating Islamic State militants. Further debunking at Polygraph.info www.polygraph.info/a/isis-in-syria/29066277.html, .