MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. A group of 27 militants who underwent training at a US military base has surrendered to the Syrian government army. After surrendering, they reported that the US is plotting acts of sabotage at oil and transport infrastructure facilities in Syria, Oleg Zhuravlev, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties, said on Wednesday.

"Overnight from April 13 to April 14, 2020, a group of militants from illegal armed groups who underwent training at a US military base near the Rukban camp tried to leave the al-Tanf zone," he said.

The militants were attacked by a US-controlled radical unit. "As a result of a clash, the militants from the al-Tanf zone lost three pickup cars. Twenty-seven men finally managed to battle their way out. Now they are under guard of Syrian government troops in Palmyra," Zhuravlev said.

According to the militants, "they had been trained by US instructors to commit acts of sabotage at the oil-and-gas and transport infrastructure facilities, as well as to organize terror attacks on territories controlled by Syrian government forces," he said.

According to Zhurvalev, 27 surrendered militants are currently held by the Syrian government forces in Palmyra. They surrendered dozens of firearms, including grenade launchers and heavy machine guns. They said the weapons and cars have been provided by the Americans.

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.