US military’s Central Command chief says there have been ‘multiple instances of collaboration’ with Syria against ISIL.
The head of the US military’s Middle East-based Central Command, Brad Cooper, has said that the United States is working with Syrian forces to carry out operations against ISIL (ISIS), highlighting the collaboration between Washington and Damascus.
Speaking virtually at a Middle East Institute event on Wednesday, Cooper said the US military is working to “foster cooperation” with Syrian authorities. “We have now had multiple instances of collaboration with the Syrian government to counter very specific ISIS threats,” Cooper said. The US general’s comments came on the first anniversary of the start of the Syrian transition after the fall of the government of President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive by opposition fighters. Cooper’s statement emphasising security cooperation in Syria underscores the stunning transformation in Damascus, which had close ties to US rivals Russia and Iran for decades under al-Assad’s rule.
The US commander also said the US is helping efforts to integrate the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces with the Syrian government. Backed by the US, the SDF controls large parts of the country’s northeast, where it enjoys de facto self-rule. Despite an agreement in March to merge SDF fighters into Syrian state institutions, occasional clashes have broken out between the two sides. “SDF’s successful integration with the Syrian government forces will lead to a more predictable and stable security environment,” Cooper said.
Syria joined the US-led global coalition against ISIL last month after President Ahmed al-Sharaa – a former rebel commander who formerly led a group with ties to al-Qaeda – visited Washington, DC, and met US President Donald Trump.
Source: aljazeera.com/news
