Syria: US sending 400 troops to bolster Raqqa offensive against Islamic State

The Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), a group of US -backed troops, have been trying to take control of Raqqa since November of 2016. Attack helicopters have also been sent.

Votel said that bringing in more troops would involve rewriting the current strategy that keeps most USA soldiers in an advisory role, and in which commandos can only engage in combat if they’re fired on.

But the Americans are stepping into a crowded space in northern Syria, where US -backed Kurdish groups, Turkish and Russian troops, Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants are all within firing range of one another. Americans have already upped the tempo in Iraq’s Mosul offensive, moving troops closer to the front than at any time during the two-year war on ISIS. The US mainstream media initially blacked out the story, but the Post today confirmed that the troops were from the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment in Stryker vehicles.

This deployment is occurring in conjunction with recent events regarding the Syrian city of Raqqa.

More urgently, however, the USA will have to find a balance between the SDF and Turkey.

The Marines “are ready to conduct their mission” to support the offensive on Raqa, the official told AFP, confirming a report in the Washington Post.

The buildup comes amid calls by US President Donald Trump for new plans to accelerate the pace of the war against the Islamic State group.

The Pentagon tells NPR that the Marine battalion will be equipped with howitzers.

The profusion of forces operating in Syria – particularly in its fractured north – has led to a deeply complex battlefield and tensions between different parties. “The current focus is Raqqa”, said Pentagon spokesman Col. John Thomas.

The outposts are created to support local troops as they move into ISIS-controlled cities, and where USA troops backing those local forces can be based.

This is an unprecedented escalation of U.S. involvement in the Syrian war and it comes without Congressional authorization, without United Nations authorization, and without the authorization of the government of Syria.

It will give more power to generals – who were shackled by former president Barack Obama. This week’s deployment is just the latest commitment to that aim. They now find themselves more committed to a labyrinthine patchwork of allies and enemies with varying objectives. “The Turkish side is an occupation force and it can not be allowed to occupy more Syrian land”, he said. Either side of that are areas dominated by Kurdish fighters and some smaller allied Arab rebel groups.

Syrian Kurdish groups meanwhile sense Washington is now more firmly behind them than before, a shift they hope will eventually aid their ambitions for autonomy after years of persecution by the Syrian government.

Here’s where it gets even more complicated. The Kurdish forces have proven the only reliable, large-scale USA -backed force capable of fighting the terrorist group effectively. ABC News breaks down their role in the fight against ISIS.

These troops will “reassure and deter parties from attacking any other parties other than ISIS itself”, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Monday.

Turkey opposes the use of YPG (a Kurdish acronym for People’s Protection Units), preferring Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces as well as its own military. Despite largely staying out of the fight between rebels and Assad, a large stretch of Kurdish majority areas now sits beyond Syrian government control.

USA media reports say the Pentagon is proposing the deployment of additional special operations forces, artillery and attack helicopters in support of an offensive by local ground forces.