Reuters: U.S.-backed Syria forces launch offensive for Manbij pocketJune 1, 2016 - 10:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are launching an offensive to capture from Islamic State a crucial swathe of northern Syria known as the Manbij pocket following weeks of quiet preparations, U.S. officials disclosed to Reuters, the news agency reports. The operation, which only just started to get underway on Tuesday, May 31 and could take weeks to complete, aims to choke off Islamic State's access to Syrian territory along the Turkish border that militants have long used as a logistics base for moving foreign fighters back and forth to Europe. "It's significant in that it's their last remaining funnel" to Europe, a U.S. military official said. A small number of U.S. special operations forces will support the offensive on the ground, acting as advisors and staying some distance back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning. "They'll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation. But they will not engage in direct combat," the official said. The operation will also count on support from U.S.-led coalition air strikes as well as from ground-based firing positions across the border in Turkey. Perhaps essential for NATO ally Turkey, the operation will be overwhelmingly comprised of Syrian Arabs instead of forces with the Kurdish YPG militia, who will only represent about a fifth or a sixth of the overall force, the officials said. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters to be terrorists and has been enraged by U.S. backing for the militia in its battle with Islamic State in Syria. Top stories Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. Partner news | Viva sees growing demand for cloud services In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud services Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin. Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats. Balance of attached cards in the Idram&IDBank app From now on, users will be able to view the online balances of cards issued by ArCa system banks and attached to the app. |