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U.S. Special Forces Chief: No Plan to Take IS 'Capital'
[An Nahar] The commander of U.S. special operations said Tuesday that, while coalition forces have put the Islamic State group under pressure, there is no immediate battlefield plan to take its de facto capital.Briefing U.S. lawmakers in Washington, senior generals said the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition was working with local ground forces to isolate the group's Syrian stronghold in the city of Raqa. But General Joseph Votel, head of Special Operations Command, said this broad strategy does not yet amount to a plan to take Raqa, despite recent advances by U.S.-backed fighters grouped under the "Syrian Democratic Forces" banner. "There is currently not a plan," he said. Asked whether the coalition has a plan hold the city after it falls, he added: "I would say no, there is not a plan to hold Raqa." And, under questioning from the Senate Armed Services Committee, he admitted that the SDF force that the U.S.-led coalition relies upon for ground forces in the Raqa area is "probably about 80 percent" Kurdish. The coalition has been criticized for its over-reliance on Kurdish allies, who may struggle to win over civilians in a mainly Arab town like Raqa and are considered suspect by neighboring Turkey. Posted by: Fred 2016-03-10 |
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