US bolsters Syria rebels with airstrikes
US military aircraft carried out their first airstrikes in Syria in support of a Pentagon-trained rebel force, after the compound the fighters were using came under attack by unidentified militants, American military officials said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Friday’s mission underscored the dangers facing the Pentagon-trained force, the first members of which recently entered Syria, because of their association with the US.
The Pentagon has struggled to recruit and vet rebels for the program, in part because the U.S. is asking them to fight Islamic State militants instead of the Assad regime. Many rebels want to focus on the Assad regime, not Islamic State.
Fewer than 60 fighters have completed the Pentagon training program, a far cry from the 3,000 that military officials said they hoped to train by year’s end.
The incident also underlined the expanding role of the US in the conflict. Administration officials have been putting off a decision for months to set out the circumstances under which the US would provide air support to Pentagon-trained fighters.
Military officials have said they would come to the aid of the fighters if they came under attack from hard-line Islamist militants.
But the administration hasn’t said if it would provide similar support if the fighters come under attack from the Assad regime because that could pull the US into direct conflict with the regime.
Friday’s attack was the second against the small Pentagon-trained rebel force this week. On Thursday, one of the US-backed group’s leaders was seized by Syria’s al Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front. Pentagon officials said the man who was seized by Nusra hadn’t gone through the training program.
Friday’s assault on the compound involved roughly 50 attackers, Pentagon officials said.
US officials said they believed the assault was carried out by Nusra, which drove separate forces trained and equipped by the Central Intelligence Agency out of northern Syria last year.
In addition to the Pentagon-trained force, the compound was being used by a Western-backed Free Syrian Army unit called the 30th Division.
With the help of US air power, the two groups repelled the attack, Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith said.
Pentagon officials declined to comment on any casualties during the incident. The Pentagon also declined to give the location of the compound, citing security concerns.
The US has conducted airstrikes in Syria in the past, including in support of Kurdish forces battling Islamic State. It was the first time the Pentagon has come to the aid of the forces which it has trained and equipped.
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