US Airdrops Weapons, Supplies to Syria Militants

One military official said that the drop, by Air Force C-17 cargo planes in northern Syrian Sunday, was part of a revamped American strategy announced last week to help militants in Syria battling ISIL terrorists.

Last week, Washington shelved a program to train and equip the so-called “moderate” groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad who would purportedly join the fight against ISIL.

The only organization on the ground to have success against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant terrorist group while cooperating with the American-led coalition is a Kurdish militia, the YPG, which has carved out an autonomous zone in northern Syria and advanced deep into Raqqa province, the ISIL group’s stronghold.

The YPG Monday announced a new alliance with small groups of Arab militants, which could help deflect criticism that it fights only on behalf of Kurds.

Washington has indicated it could direct funding and weapons to Arab commanders on the ground who cooperate with the YPG.

Syrian Arab militants said they had been told by Washington that new weapons were on their way to help them launch a joint offensive with their Kurdish allies on the city of Raqqa, the de facto ISIL capital, Reuters reported.

The American military confirmed dropping supplies to the militant vetted by the United States but would say no more about the groups that received the supplies or the type of equipment included in the airdrop.

The Russian intervention in the more than 4-year-old Syrian conflict has wrongfooted US President Barack Obama’s administration, which has been trying to defeat ISIL while still calling for President Assad’s downfall.

Moscow says it targets only banned terrorist groups in Syria, primarily ISIL. In its briefings, it describes all of the targets it strikes as belonging to the extremist group.