Yet the program, which was launched in May in both Jordan and Turkey, has fallen far short of its target of 5000 fighters a year, with only 54 fighters in its inaugural class. The small group of rebels who had passed the background check - to ensure they did not have links to Islamist groups - refused to participate or quickly dropped out, due to a US condition that they only engage Isil targets while abandoning the fight against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.