US-Led Coalition Sends New Batch of Military Hardware to Syrian Democratic Forces (Photos)

The
Syrian Democratic Forces have received 200 IAG Guardian armored
personnel carriers and a batch of weapons from the US-led coalition.

Photo: Twitter / TAHSAVUNMA

Armed units of the Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF), positioning themselves as fighters against the Islamic State
(IS) terrorist group, have for the first time received armored vehicles
from the US-led anti-terrorist coalition, the Reuters news agency
reported, citing spokesman for the SDF Talal Silo.
According to
the news agency’s source, earlier, countries of the US-led coalition
also provided military-technical assistance, but it is the first time,
when SDF units, consisting of both Arabs and Kurds, are supplied with
armored vehicles.

“There are signs of full support from the new American leadership – more than before – for our forces,” Silo told Reuters.

Though,
Reuters did not report what kinds of armored vehicles were dispatched
to the SDF, social networks’ activists said that the SDF received a
batch of IAG Guardian armored personnel carriers, produced in the UAE, and even published some photos of the arrived vehicles.
Other
reports of social networks’ activists specified that the US-led
coalition supplied 200 armored vehicles, as well as sniper and assault
rifles, mortars, heavy machine guns and ATGMs.
SDF
units take part in the fight against IS terrorists in the area of Raqqa
city, which is considered as the IS capital in Syria. Last autumn, the US-led coalition
announced the start of the operation to liberate Raqqa, and then the
Pentagon decided to suspend the operation until the spring of 2017.
As
Silo told the news agency, the SDF has plans for a “new action” against
the IS in “a few days.” However, the SDF spokesman did not disclose any
details.
According another unnamed Kurdish military source of
Reuters, the SDF plans to take control of a road, connecting Raqqa and
Deir er-Zor.

“The coming phase of the campaign aims to
isolate Raqqa completely,” the source said. “In order to accomplish
this requires reaching the Raqqa-Deir al-Zor road,” he added. “This
mission will be difficult.”

If the supply of the armored vehicles to the SDF is the truth, then we can conclude that the administration of US President Donald Trump
seriously intends to use various forces, fighting against the IS in
Syria. Fundamentally, this corresponds to Trump’s statements about the
need to intensify the fight against the IS. Another question is whether
the SDF will be ready to disarm, when the IS is defeated in Raqqa.

Photo: Twitter / TAHSAVUNMA

Photo: Twitter / TAHSAVUNMA

Photo: Twitter / TAHSAVUNMA

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