U.S. rethinking how to utilize Syrian soldiers in fight

He said the NSF in Syria still remain a viable fighting force capable of defending themselves.

Ryder asserted that rather than ISIL forces “waving black flags and traversing Iraq and Syria in big convoys to capture large swaths of new territory”, the true situation shows a waning insurgency, losing ground steadily on almost every front.

“From the beginning we said the air campaign was not enough to fight ISIL”.

– Near Kirkuk, an airstrike struck an ISIL mortar firing position.

– Near Haditha, three airstrikes struck one large and two small ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL building and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider worldwide community. “This means that ISIL will no longer be able to freely move fighters and supplies between the countries”.

As of the end of July, the U.S. has spent $3.5 billion, or almost $10 million per day since operations began a year ago.

The YPG leadership in Kobane released Saturday a statement, of which ARA News received a copy, saying: “Six of our fighters, who were wounded in the clashes with Daesh terrorists (Islamic State group IS/ISIS), entered legally through Mursit Pinar crossing into Turkey to receive treatment there, but we have lost contact with them for some days”.

Among them is believed a 32-year-old to Indian-origin British citizen, Siddhartha Dhar, who reportedly travelled to Syria with his pregnant wife and four children in September last year while on police bail.

“We ask them to review their strategy in actually dealing seriously with Iraqi forces to help them fight ISIL”.

“The president certainly does have the expectation that the United States and our coalition partners learn from the significant challenges that we have encountered in trying to train, equip and empower the Syrian opposition fighters on the ground in Syria”, Earnest said.

Now there are two other groups of Syrian rebels going through training, and hundreds of others are being vetted.

Ultimately, Ryder said, success does not hinge on one fight or one event, rather in the continuous application of lessons learned.

– Near Kobani, an airstrike struck an ISIL tank.

He acknowledged a long road ahead without illusions about the complexities of the fight against a determined adversary.