Syrian forces made advances against rebels in Hama and Latakia provinces Saturday as the U.S. and Russian Federation declared “progress” in talks created to avoid accidents in war-torn Syria’s increasingly crowded air space. US officials hope those Arab fighters, along with Kurdish units, can help isolate Raqqa and the Islamic State leadership there.
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Meanwhile, the US-led coalition said it carried out five strikes against IS in Syria and another 20 in Iraq.
Russian Federation said today it had stepped up its bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria, while local observers said several of the air strikes had hit areas in western Syria where the hardline group has little presence.
Obama has previously questioned the notion that arming rebels would change the course of Syria’s war.
In the latest testimony about the programme, American officials admitted that only a handful of fighters remained in the country.
Christine Wormuth, under secretary of defense for policy, said that for now, the Pentagon would not hand those leaders advanced weapons like anti-tank rockets and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.
In making the decision, the US drew on the examples of Kobane and Tel Abyad where coalition forces and Syrian rebels worked together to successfully clean those areas of Daesh militants.
“I don’t think at all this was a case of poor execution”, Wormuth said.
The administration’s effort to enhance the moderate Syrian opposition through training and equipment came under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks after the White House acknowledged the program had only succeeded in graduating a handful of recruits, despite spending almost 0 million on the endeavor. Mr. Daher is now in Turkey where he fled because he is wanted by the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. After fighters trained by the United States were attacked this summer by a rival group, the United States launched airstrikes to support them.
The Observatory said a large explosion hit a building on the outskirts of the town of al-Bab in northern Syria, which is held by the ultra-hardline Islamic State. But the official said that these supplies will be delivered to anti-ISIL forces whose leaders were appropriately vetted, and described them as groups with diverse membership. A second class yielded only a small number of new fighters, drawing criticism from USA lawmakers who condemned the program as a joke and a failure.
Earlier Friday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during a news conference in London that the US “remains committed” to training forces in Syria against ISIS, but is looking for ways to “improve” the program.
USA support would now focus on weapons, communications gear and ammunition, another Pentagon official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the re-envisioned program would start in “days”.
The Pentagon said it would focus on aiding existing rebel groups rather than training a new group to fight ISIL.
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According to reports, many newly USA trained rebels had surrendered themselves to rival groups as soon as they cross to the Syrian border. Russian Federation said that a radio intercept confirmed the deaths of 200 fighters, and two commanders, who Makushev said belonged to Islamic State.
