Video Emerges Of U.S. Marines Rolling Into Syria For Raqqa Offensive
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mar 10, 2017
Yesterday we noted that the Trump administration was mulling over sending 100s of U.S. Marines to Raqqa to establish an outpost from which they could fire artillery at IS positions to support U.S. special forces and Kurdish fighters already on the ground. Now, just one day later, video has emerged of dozens of heavily armored vehicles flying U.S. flags moving through desolate Syrian villages on their way to do just that.
The vehicles captured amid the maneuvers are a part of an amphibious task force of the 11th US Marine Expeditionary Unit that recently arrived in Syria to assist the Kurdish-led SDF and Syrian Arab Coalition as they are preparing for an operation to recapture the Islamic State’s stronghold of Raqqa.
Deployment of the approximately 400 U.S. Marines was confirmed by US officials earlier today after reports of their ground presence surfaced yesterday. While the unit will be playing a crucial role in providing support for rebels in the coming offensive, in particular in form of artillery fire from M777 Howitzers capable of striking targets at a range of up to 20 miles, they will not engage in frontline combat and are supposedly only in Syria “for a temporary period.”
Per RT, US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, spokesman for the US-led coalition, was optimistic about the timing of the operation, as he stated that the effort by the forces battling ISIS in the area, to encircle the city, has been “going very, very well.”
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