US advisers near battle for key Syrian town: Military
US special forces advisers are within miles of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who they are helping to capture al-Shadadi from Daesh, a US military spokesman says.
The American forces have been helping the SDF through planning, re-supplying and coordinating air strikes, Colonel Christopher Garver, a spokesman for the US-led military coalition against ISIL, said on Friday.
US advisers and coalition air strikes assisted about 6,000 SDF fighters in encircling the city from nearly Feb. 15 to Feb. 22, Garver said.
"The SDF overwhelmed ISIL forces around Shadadi and isolated the city in just six days," Garver said. "When our planners or coordinators are connected with them, in terms of making sure their air strikes are in the right place, clearing fires so that we can quickly attack targets that appear to the front of the SDF forces, that goes much smoother."
The American forces were not on the ground with the SDF fighters and were far from the front lines, but were within miles of the battlefield, Garver noted.
"They operate at the next higher headquarters," he said. "They are not down on the ground with the fighters or in the lower echelon headquarters."
"The loss of Shadadi increases the time, difficulty, and risk to Daesh as it attempts to move between Syria and Iraq," Garver said.
On Monday, the US and Russia reached a draft deal, detailing a ceasefire to start in war-torn Syria on Saturday.
The Syrian government has accepted the terms on condition that military efforts against the Daesh and al-Nusra, which are not included in the ceasefire agreement, continue.
The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of some 470,000 people and left 1.9 million injured, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research.
Syria accuses Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of funding and arming terrorist groups operating inside the country, including Daesh.
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