By Robert Tilford | Examiner | Oct. 25, 2012

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Gen. Nikolai Makarov told reporters on October 23, 2012 that, “The General Staff has information that the militants, who are fighting against Syrian government troops, are armed with the portable air defense systems of various countries, including the Stinger of U.S. production."

“The US denies this fact, they say that they did not deliver anything to them (Syrian militants). However, we have reliable information that Syrian militants are armed with foreign portable air defense systems, including U.S. air defense systems”, Makarov said. “It is necessary to find out who supplied it to them,” the chief of the Russian General Staff added (see article: U.S. Supplying Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Syrian Rebels http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-supplying-anti-aircraft-missiles-to-syrian-rebels/5309684 ).

The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM), which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters (as an AAM), developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981.

Used by the militaries of the United States (and by 29 other countries), the basic Stinger missile has to date been used in several dozen attacks against civilian aircraft (see special report: Shoulder Launched Missiles, The Ominous Threat to Commercial aviation http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA461534).

See video: Stinger in Afghanistan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wobG_68P_LE&feature=related

In the Syrian civil war, Turkey reportedly supplied the anti-government rebels with FIM-92 Stingers, according to reports (see article: Syrian Rebels Claim First Jet Downing, in Possible Shift for War http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-claim-to-have-brought-down-a-jet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0).

Turkey is a NATO member and close military ally with the United States.