This statement by a US official is the first I’ve seen that confirms that the US and Russia are now working in concert on shared objectives and explains the recent focus on ISIS by all parties ..
That’s the Trump effect in action ..
Since Trump has been elected, Aleppo was liberated, Damascus had their water restored, Jihadists in Idlib area started fighting each other for resources (arms and money), and all parties (Turkey+FSA, Russia+Assad, USA+SDF) have been focused on eliminating ISIS ..
Obama (and Hillary, quite deliberately) merely managed to inflame the situation ..
[ Caveat: Turkey ran out of ISIS controlled territory to expand into .. They now border Assad (Russia) and SDF (USA) and have started attacking the SDF .. Let’s see if either USA or Russia attempts to rein Turkey in .. ]
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“Russian and Syrian jets nearly hit U.S. forces in northern Syria on Tuesday when they attacked positions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a critical American ally in the effort to expel the Islamic State from Syria, the top U.S. general there said Wednesday.”
“The Russian and Syrian planes, apparently, had seen some Islamic State forces recently move out of the area and hit the U.S. proxies thinking they were ISIS forces, Townsend said. The Syrian Arab force took casualties, but the Russian planes peeled off once their American counterparts used a long-established hotline to warn them they were bombing friendly forces. American advisory forces were fewer than five miles away, but were unharmed.”
“[Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend] sought to tamp down tensions, saying that “the coalition is encouraged” by the progress against the Islamic State by the Turkish military and their proxies. He added that the United States asks “all forces to remain focused on the counter-ISIS fight and concentrate their efforts on defeating ISIS, and not toward other objectives that may cause the coalition to divert energy and resources away from Raqqa.””
Russians Hit U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebels, As Hostile Groups Converge Within ‘Grenade Range’
The top U.S. general in Iraq and Syria says the situation in northern Syria remains chaotic.