Al-Qaeda-aligned rebels in Syria getting money, guns from Kuwait

Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad are getting weapons and cash from inside Kuwait.

The role of Saudi and Qatari governments in funding and arming the Islamist fighters in Syria has been well known since the civil war began more than two years ago.

But now, guns and money are flowing from private sources and Salafist-controlled NGOs based in Kuwait, Fox News reports.

Hard-core Sunni Islamist Sheikh Shafi' Al-Ajami announced on Kuwaiti television last month that they were collecting money to buy weapons, so that their brothers in Syria could win.

He also listed the black-market prices of weapons, including heat-seeking missiles, anti-aircraft guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Analysts said that former members of the Kuwaiti parliament Falah Al Sawagh and Waleed Al Tabtabie are also highly visible fundraisers and frequent travelers to rebel-held areas in Syria, Turkey and Jordan to hand over cash to their favored groups, the report added.