JUDY WOODRUFF:

But, first, the Pentagon has denied reports that al-Qaida linked fighters have abducted several U.S.-trained Syrian rebels outside of Aleppo, Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that the men were taken by members of the al-Nusra Front.

In May, the U.S. military launched a program to train up to 5,000 so-called moderate rebels per year. So far, they're nowhere near that number.

Special correspondent Jane Ferguson caught up with one of the few fighters who has been trained by the U.S. in Southern Turkey.