US forces ferry Syrian-Kurdish fighters behind IS lines

Beirut: US aircraft ferried Syrian Kurdish fighters and allied forces behind Islamic State lines today to spearhead an assault on a strategic town belonging to the extremist group outside its de facto capital, Raqqa, the Pentagon said, marking the first time US forces have provided airlift for local forces on a combat operation in Syria.

The airlift was part of what Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon described as a large, high-priority offensive to secure the area around Tabqa and the associated Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River.

"This is a significant strategic target," said Pahon. If successful, the operation would "basically cut ISIS off" from the western approaches to Raqqa.
The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said their fighters seized four villages south of the Euphrates and cut the main artery between Raqqa and northwestern Syria.

The group said in a statement on social media that US infantry were also airlifted into the area of operations. The Pentagon said US military advisers were on the ground in the Tabqa area to help coordinate the operation, but said the airlift was for Syrian fighters only. It said no US troops were involved in fighting on the front line.

Tabqa lies 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Raqqa. The Islamic State group controls the town and a dam and military airfield nearby.

"This is a big operation," Pahon said, adding that Tabqa is an important IS-held area because of the dam that provides electricity to the area. He said IS has controlled the area since 2013 and used it for a combination of purposes, including as a prison for high-profile hostages and as a training camp and headquarters.

Also today, the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group said it was looking into reports that a US-led coalition aircraft may have struck a shelter for the displaced in the village of Mansoura, also held by IS.

Syrian activists said today that dozens of people were killed or missing after an airstrike the day before leveled a school near the IS-held city of Raqqa, where displaced families had sought refuge.