Monitoring Desk
NORTHEAST SYRIA: The top US military official said on Saturday that eight-year-old US troops deployment to Syria to counter Daesh is still worth the risk. He expressed the remarks following an unannounced trip to a base to meet US forces in the Syria’s northeast.
US top general visits Syria
The US military General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Syria to evaluate efforts to avert a resurgence of the militants and review security for the US forces against attacks. According to Arab News hundreds of fighters of Daesh are still operating in desolate areas of Syria where neither the US-led coalition nor the Syrian forces exert complete control. Thousands of Daesh militants are in detention centers guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, US’s key ally in Syria. General Milley linked the mission to the security of the US and its allies, adding: “If you think that that’s significant, then the answer is ‘Yes.’
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In February, the US military shot down an Iranian-made drone in Syria that was trying to carryout reconnaissance on a patrol base in northeast part of Syria. Similarly, three drones hit a US base in January in Al-Tanf region of Syria. The US military officials said two of the drones were shot down while the one targeted the compound, injuring two men of the Syrian Free Army forces. US officials claimed the drone attacks are being directed by Iran-backed group.
US military Major General Matthew McFarlane, in charge of the US-led alliance against Daesh in Syria and Iraq, termed the attacks as a distraction from their main mission.
