United States has authorized first deployment of 50 U.S. Special Forces in Syria 13110152

Defence & Security News - United States
 
United States has authorized first deployment of 50 U.S. Special Forces in Syria.
President Barack Obama has authorized the first deployment of U.S. special forces to Syria, officials said Friday, October 31, 2015. U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.
     
President Barack Obama has authorized the first deployment of U.S. special forces to Syria, officials said Friday, October 31, 2015. U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve. Syrian soldiers wave Syrian flags to celebrate the capture of Achan, Hama province, Syria.
     
United States has authorized an initial deployment of around 500 special operations forces to the north of Syria , in what officials described as an intensified effort to combat the Islamic State group.

The planned deployment, along with the U.S. decision this week to include Iran in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, represents the biggest change in the United States' Syria policy since it began a bombing campaign against Islamic State targets there in September 2014.

“They will help coordinate local ground forces and coalition efforts to counter ISIL,” said a senior U.S. administration official.

U.S. administration officials insist that the move does not alter the basic strategy against the Islamic State, which is to support local forces in the fight against the Islamic State and avoid the use of conventional American ground troops.

Intensifying the campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria will enhance U.S. military strategies that are working while moving away from those that are not, a senior Defense Department official said today.

Yesterday, Fighter aircraft conducted one airstrike in Syria, destroying an ISIL mortar system near Mara.

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
 
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.