ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A US spokesman for the international coalition to defeat ISIS has warned that it would reduce support if the arms it has supplied in the example of Kurds for Raqqa are not used properly.
“And any misuse that does not go towards fighting ISIS or is found used elsewhere, could potentially curtail any further support on what we may give to them in the future,” Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters via teleconference from Baghdad on Thursday.
“We will have advisors as well that are going to be with our SDF elements. And as much as they can, they will be with them as they are advising them in the seizure of Raqqah. “
Dillon was repeatedly queried on Turkish concerns of the US supplying heavier arms to Kurdish elements of the coalition’s partnered ground forces.
Many Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) comprise the SDF in Syria, and Ankara worries that the weapons could be used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in its three-decade-long guerrilla insurgency with the Turkish government.
“We are maintaining full accountability of the weapons that we were providing the SDF and we are being transparent with Turkey on the details of what we are providing,” he said.
Dillon, who has previously said weapons will be metered out to partner forces in an as-needed basis, noted the risks in broadcasting the weapons capabilities of partnered ground forces.
“We're not going to get into the serial number items and the amount of the small arms and ammunition and the types of guns and vehicles that we're providing,” he said. “We don't want ISIS to know what it is that the — our Syrian Democratic Forces have. But we're just not going to go into that kind of detail.”
Dillon says SDF has captured 350 square-kilometers in areas around Raqqa since May 30. Its fighters are now just 3 kilometers to the east and north of the city limits and 10 kilometers to the west near Azadi (Baath in Arabic) Dam.
The coalition believes the fight capture the ISIS held de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria will be similar to the fight to retake the group’s largest stronghold in Iraq.
“Obviously, they will face a threat that we believe is going to be very similar to what we've seen in Mosul. And these vehicle-borne IEDs, the up-armor types are going to be a threat,” said Dillon. “And we want to make sure our Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF], our partners, are prepared and ready for that.”
The Mosul offensive moved rapidly through the less-densely populated eastern half, but has become bogged down in the west due to snipers, tight streets, and ISIS tactics to booby trap buildings
Dillon wasn’t willing to provide a timeline for the commencement of the offensive into Raqqa city, claiming that local coalition partners will make the decision. The SDF began isolating and the imposition of a crescent-shaped siege in the Raqqa countryside last November.
“And any misuse that does not go towards fighting ISIS or is found used elsewhere, could potentially curtail any further support on what we may give to them in the future,” Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters via teleconference from Baghdad on Thursday.
“We will have advisors as well that are going to be with our SDF elements. And as much as they can, they will be with them as they are advising them in the seizure of Raqqah. “
Dillon was repeatedly queried on Turkish concerns of the US supplying heavier arms to Kurdish elements of the coalition’s partnered ground forces.
Many Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) comprise the SDF in Syria, and Ankara worries that the weapons could be used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in its three-decade-long guerrilla insurgency with the Turkish government.
“We are maintaining full accountability of the weapons that we were providing the SDF and we are being transparent with Turkey on the details of what we are providing,” he said.
Dillon, who has previously said weapons will be metered out to partner forces in an as-needed basis, noted the risks in broadcasting the weapons capabilities of partnered ground forces.
“We're not going to get into the serial number items and the amount of the small arms and ammunition and the types of guns and vehicles that we're providing,” he said. “We don't want ISIS to know what it is that the — our Syrian Democratic Forces have. But we're just not going to go into that kind of detail.”
Dillon says SDF has captured 350 square-kilometers in areas around Raqqa since May 30. Its fighters are now just 3 kilometers to the east and north of the city limits and 10 kilometers to the west near Azadi (Baath in Arabic) Dam.
The coalition believes the fight capture the ISIS held de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria will be similar to the fight to retake the group’s largest stronghold in Iraq.
“Obviously, they will face a threat that we believe is going to be very similar to what we've seen in Mosul. And these vehicle-borne IEDs, the up-armor types are going to be a threat,” said Dillon. “And we want to make sure our Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF], our partners, are prepared and ready for that.”
The Mosul offensive moved rapidly through the less-densely populated eastern half, but has become bogged down in the west due to snipers, tight streets, and ISIS tactics to booby trap buildings
Dillon wasn’t willing to provide a timeline for the commencement of the offensive into Raqqa city, claiming that local coalition partners will make the decision. The SDF began isolating and the imposition of a crescent-shaped siege in the Raqqa countryside last November.
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