Syrian Rebels Using YouTube, Facebook for Weapons Training

Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad are taking to YouTube and Facebook to help learn how to use their weapons, Wired.com reported.

Most of the rebels lack military training and the YouTube channel, FSAHelp, which means “Free Syrian Army,” offers hi-def, high-quality videos of basic training on how to operate assault rifles and other fighting strategies, including hand-to-hand combat, Wired.com reported.

The videos feature actors wearing ski masks. The quality of the arsenal impressed weapons experts.

“There are only a few countries in the world where you would expect to see a Kel-Tec pistol, Sig 9mm, Glock Gen4, Workforce wrench and a S&W M&P AR-15 rifle in the same place,” The Firearm Blog wrote, according to Wired.com. “This was almost certainly filmed in the USA or Canada (my money is on the former).”

FSAHelp’s Facebook page shows rebels how to turn ringtones off of cellphones and how to operate anti-tank missiles, Wired.com reported.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has flared for 17 months as rebels seek to overthrow al-Assad.

Clashes in Damascus between rebels and state forces raged for a third day on Tuesday, in the fiercest fighting to hit Syria's seat of power since the revolt began, Reuters reported.

Syria has begun removing chemical weapons from storage facilities, leading to fears Damascus may be preparing to use the weapons against rebels or as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign. However, others believe the regime of al-Assad may be trying to safeguard the stockpiles of sarin nerve agent, mustard gas, and cyanide.

Syria is not a signatory to the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention and the nation is believed to hold one of the largest stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in the Middle East. The country also has the capability of delivering chemical weapons in artillery shells and missiles.