Pentagon Downplays Syrian Escalation

The Pentagon has stressed the decision to increase U.S. air cover for Syrian rebels would be limited to supporting those trained and equipped by the country to fight the Islamic State.

The announcement that U.S. warplanes would support American-trained rebels has sparked some concerns the U.S. military could be put in direct conflict with Bashar al-Assad’s military, which would be a major escalation in the conflict.

“We’re not at war with the Assad regime. The people we are training and equipping are pledged to fight ISIL [ISIS] and only ISIL, so this is not something we view as inviting confrontation with Assad in any way,” Pentagon spokesperson Navy Captain Jeff Davis said Monday.

“This is simply us following through with an obligation we made to help defend them from other threats, and the more likely threat is probably going to be groups like al-Nusra.”

However, Davis notably did not rule out engaging Syrian government forces should they use U.S.-backed fighters, Al Jazeera reported. “We do recognize that many of these groups now fight on multiple fronts, to include again the Assad regime, ISIL and other terrorists.”

Syrian Warplane Crashes into Residential Area

A Syrian government warplane crashed into a residential area following air raids, killing at least 27 people, according to activists.

The raids on the town of Ariha came amid intense clashes between government forces and insurgents in the northwestern province of Idlib and the central region of Hama, the Associated Press reported. The town, a former government stronghold, was captured by opposition fighters and Islamic militants in May.

The plane came down in a busy market, killing 27 people and wounding scores of others, activists from the Local Coordination Committees said. It was unclear whether the plane was shot down.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later said 31 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded.

At the time of the crash, the town was under attack by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s air force.

Hundreds of Civilians Killed in Anti-ISIS Airstrikes: Report

At least 459 civilians have been killed in U.S. airstrikes targeting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq over the past 12 months, an independent monitoring group says.

The report by Airwars, a project aimed at tracking the international airstrikes targeting the Islamic radicals, said it had counted 57 specific strikes that had killed civilians – as well as causing 48 suspected “friendly fire” deaths, the Associated Press reported.

The group added that the strikes had killed more than 15,000 ISIS militants.

“Almost all claims of noncombatant deaths from alleged coalition strikes emerge within 24 hours – with graphic images of reported victims often widely disseminated,” the report said. “In this context, the present coalition policy of downplaying or denying all claims of noncombatant fatalities makes little sense, and risks handing (the) Islamic State (group) and other forces a powerful propaganda tool.”

Recommended Reads

• Stratfor: The Geopolitics of the Syrian Civil War
• Foreign Affairs: Erdogan’s War
• Foreign Policy: Pentagon Launching Armed Drones From Turkey
• Foreign Policy: Turkey Goes to War
• Foreign Policy: A Short History of Turkish Threats to Invade Syria
• Council on Foreign Relations: How Obama Goes to War (Syria Version)
• The Guardian: Syria approaching de facto partition amid Assad military setbacks
• The Christian Science Monitor: Syrian war: As neighbors seek border enclaves, a de facto partition?
• Financial Times: Uncertainty over US plans frustrates Syrian rebel groups
• NBC News: Analysis: Is Syria’s Assad Set To Be Abandoned by Russia, Iran?
• Slate: The U.S. Is Being Pulled Deeper and Deeper Into the Syrian War
• Business Insider: The US and Turkey are taking a big gamble on Syria
• Vox: Obama’s failed plan to train the Syrian rebels, in one brutal timeline
• Middle East Eye: Life under two masters in Syria’s Hasakeh