The US State Department's anti-ISIL coalition envoy Brett McGurk told CBS News that the 50 US Army Special Forces troops are scheduled to go into Syria "very soon."
According to McGurk, it is now possible to attack ISIL's headquarters in Syria's Raqqa, which is colloquially referred to as a "capital" of the Islamic State organization. McGurk added that the US views Russia's participation in the conflict against ISIL positively.
"They will be going in very soon," McGurk told CBS, adding that the precise timing is sensitive information.
McGurk also said that Syria has a dire situation with foreign fighters. The US envoy compared the situation to the Soviet-led war in Afghanistan, during which the US sent in advisors, as well as funded and trained Islamist militants to fight Soviet forces and the country's government.
"We've never seen anything like this. 30,000 foreign fighters from a hundred countries around the world, that's almost twice as many as went into Afghanistan in the eighties, " McGurk said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad previously voiced many concerns about foreign fighters among rebels, even before ISIL's separation from other terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.
McGurk also said that the talks being held on Syria's future in Vienna are crucial for Syria's future, although he noted that the US remains committed to "transitioning" Assad out of power.
[Sputnik]
23/11/15
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US Special Forces Going Into Syria 'Very Soon' ...
ReplyDeleteThe special U.S. envoy to the global coalition to counter the Islamic State group (IS/ISIL) said dozens of U.S. special operations forces will be deployed "very soon" in Syria to work with Arab forces trying to isolate the group's self-proclaimed capital and end terrorist plots.
Brett McGurk said on U.S. television Sunday these anti-IS forces in recent weeks already have retaken territory and killed hundreds of IS fighters.
McGurk said he would not disclose the date, due to the sensitive nature of the U.S. deployment, but added that fewer than 50 special operations troops would enter northern Syria "very soon." Their mission, announced late last month, is aimed at providing anti-IS Arab forces training, advice and assistance.
These anti-IS forces already have conducted a "very successful operation," McGurk said. "They’ve taken about 1,100-square kilometers in just the last two weeks. They’ve killed about 300 ISIL fighters, and this is focused on isolating the capital of ISIL in Raqqa, where we think a lot of these [terrorist] plots are being hatched."
McGurk said the goal is to take back territory, kill IS leaders, and cut off their financing as well as the global networks feeding foreign fighters into IS ranks. He pointed to Friday's U.N. Security Council resolution calling IS attacks in Tunisia, Turkey, Beirut, Paris and the downing of a Russian plane over Sinai a "global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security."............http://www.voanews.com/content/us-special-forces-going-into-syria-very-soon/3069672.html
23/11/15