WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has authorized sending some US weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time as a part of a new package of military support to the opposition in the fight to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a source close to the matter said on Thursday.

There was no immediate word on the type of weaponry the United States would provide or when it would be delivered. The White House said earlier that Obama had approved direct military assistance to the beleaguered rebels but declined to give details or say whether any of it would be lethal equipment.