A U.S. Army soldier stands on an eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle, near al-Ghanamya village, al-Darbasiyah town, at the Syrian-Turkish border on Saturday. Photo by Youssef Rabie Youssef/EPA
The US-led coalition has airdropped about 100 members of US-backed groups of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) from the US-held At-Tanf area in southeastern Syria to the Al-Shaddadi area in northeastern Syria, according to pro-militant media activists and media outlets.
Both At Tanf and Al-Shaddadi are located near the border with Iraq.
According to reports, the goal of this move is to set a foothold for the US-backed advance on the government-held city of Deir Ezzor besieged by ISIS terrorists. Another obvious target for the US-led operation is the ISIS-held border town of al-Bukamal.
If reports confirmed, this move will be considered as a common part of a wider US effort aimed at building a buffer zone between Syria and Iraq and seizing as much border area as possible. The goal is to prevent any cooperation between the Syrian and Iraqi military.
