U.S. Forces Helping Turkey Clear Islamic State in Syria
- About 40 troops working alongside Turkish forces in the north
- Ceasefire plan faces threat from Assad refusal to allow aid
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U.S. special operations troops joined Turkish soldiers and Syrian opposition groups to clear Islamic State fighters from northern Syria, the Pentagon said, the latest sign that the Obama administration is deepening its involvement in the 5 1/2-year civil war.
“Denying ISIL access to this critical border cuts off critical supply routes in and out of Iraq and Syria,” Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a statement, using an alternate acronym for Islamic State. There are about 40 special operations troops involved, said a U.S. official who asked to remain anonymous because the details aren’t public.