US military\u2019s Central Command chief says there have been \u2018multiple instances of collaboration\u2019 with Syria against ISIL.<\/p>\n
The head of the US military\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Speaking virtually at a Middle East Institute event on Wednesday, Cooper said the US military is working to \u201cfoster cooperation\u201d with Syrian authorities.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have now had multiple instances of collaboration with the Syrian government to counter very specific ISIS threats,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n
The US general\u2019s comments came on the first anniversary<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s 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\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n The US commander also said the US is helping efforts to integrate the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces with the Syrian government.<\/p>\n Backed by the US, the SDF controls large parts of the country\u2019s northeast, where it enjoys de facto self-rule. Despite an agreement in March<\/a> to merge SDF fighters into Syrian state institutions, occasional clashes have broken out between the two sides.<\/p>\n \u201cSDF\u2019s successful integration with the Syrian government forces will lead to a more predictable and stable security environment,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n Syria joined the US-led global coalition against ISIL last month after President Ahmed al-Sharaa \u2013 a former rebel commander who formerly led a group with ties to al-Qaeda \u2013 visited Washington, DC<\/a>, and met US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cJust the other week, we worked with the Syrian Ministry of Interior in locating and destroying 15 ISIS weapon sites in southern Syria,\u201d Cooper said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis operation eliminated over 130 mortars and rockets, multiple small arms, antitank mines, IED [improvised explosive device] material and illicit drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n ISIL controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019. Despite the group\u2019s territorial defeat, US officials say ISIL remnants continue to pose a threat to the region.<\/p>\n The US deployed as many as 2,000 troops<\/a> to Syria during the fight against ISIL, but the Trump administration announced earlier this year that it will slash the number of US bases and soldiers in the country.<\/p>\n Cooper said the US military will continue to play an \u201cactive role\u201d in supporting US envoy Tom Barrack<\/a> to realise Trump\u2019s \u201cvision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours\u201d.<\/p>\n He also reiterated his gratitude to the Syrian authorities for intercepting weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the types of tangible security gains we can make on the ground through close cooperation with Syrian government forces,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since the fall of al-Assad, Israel \u2013 the top US ally in the region \u2013 has been carrying out air strikes in Syria and expanding its military presence in the south of the country.<\/p>\n