Special to WorldTribune.com

A stockpile of weapons seized by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Iraq included a “huge volume” of U.S. anti-tank missiles, according to reports.

The Pentagon confirmed on Oct. 12 that Iraqi forces discovered the ISIL weapons cache near the city of Fallujah. The stockpile included U.S.-made ammunition and TOW II anti-tank missiles.

A Pentagon official said the U.S. was aware the supply of arms had gone missing last year but denied that the U.S. had been intentionally arming ISIL and other jihadists in the region as some reports had suggested.

“As you may recall, when ISIL overran Iraqi positions last year, we were aware of ISIL capturing some Iraqi weapons and equipment that had been supplied by the U.S. to Iraqi forces,” the official said. “However, the claims that U.S. and coalition forces are directly supplying ISIL with any weapons, equipment, or ammunition are completely false.”

Iran’s state-controlled Fars news agency claimed in a report that weapons and ammunition discovered over the weekend near Fallujah had been “airdropped” into the area by U.S. forces.

“The military hardware and weapons had been airdropped by the U.S.-led warplanes and choppers for the ISIL in the nearby areas of Beiji,” a military source told Fars.

The Pentagon flatly rejected the report, saying it was “nothing more than propaganda intended to mislead readers about the true nature of the coalition’s efforts to support our Iraqi partners and defeat ISIL.”

Another Pentagon official said Iran routinely put out these types of reports and U.S. officials “regularly have to correct the record.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that the U.S. conducted 24 air strikes on Oct. 11, with 17 taking place in Iraq and 7 in Syria.

“The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community,” the Pentagon said. “The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations.”

  Fallujah, Pentagon, Report: ISIL seizes U.S. missiles in Iraq, TOW II anti-tank missiles, WorldTribune.com