A senior Taliban commander said that the base was established by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with the help of former Afghan fighters of Middle Eastern origin who moved to Syria in recent years, the BBC reported on Friday.

Mohammad Amin, a Taliban operative and "coordinator of the Syrian base,” said some 12 warfare and information technology experts had travelled to Syria during the past two months to assess the situation in the Arab country.

He claimed that the cell in Syria was set up six months ago, adding that it sends "information and feedback" on the crisis.

"They were facilitated by our friends in Syria who have previously been fighting in Afghanistan," Amin added.

Their task is to assess the needs of the militants in Syria, and to work out joint operations.

"There are dozens of Pakistani hopefuls in line to join the fighting against the Syrian Army, but the advice we are getting at the moment is that there's already enough manpower in Syria."

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

Washington has remained indifferent about warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.

SHI/SHI