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Thursday, November 24, 2016 8:03:14 PM
We just lost or first soldier in Syria ___ First American Is Killed in Syria in Campaign Against ISIS
By ALISSA J. RUBIN, KARAM SHOUMALI and ERIC SCHMITT
NOV. 24, 2016
Rescue workers in Aleppo rescue a boy from rubble on Thursday after a reported bomb attack in the city’s Bab al-Nairab neighborhood.
Credit Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States military suffered its first combat death in Syria on Thursday when a service member was killed in the northern part of the country, an area where the Americans are helping to organize an offensive against the Islamic State.
American warplanes have been bombing targets inside Syria to help tens of thousands of militia fighters try to oust the Islamic State from Raqqa, the group’s stronghold in the country.
American forces are on the ground as well. More than 300 members of the United States Special Operations Forces are in Syria to help recruit, train and advise the Kurdish and Arab fighters who are trying to encircle the Islamic State [ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/world/middleeast/us-backed-militia-opens-drive-on-isis-capital-in-syria.html ] in Raqqa, cut off its supplies and ultimately retake the city.
The Special Operations Forces member who died on Thursday was killed by an improvised explosive device in the vicinity of Ayn Issa in northern Syria, United States military officials said.
“I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement, using one of the names for the Islamic State. “It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe.”Though the Obama administration has sought to limit the number of American soldiers in the fight against the Islamic State, the death on Thursday demonstrates how volatile and deadly the campaign against the group is in Syria and Iraq. American service members have been killed in Iraq as well, and this month the United States acknowledged killing 119 civilians in Iraq and Syria since it began military operations against the Islamic State in 2014.
Three Turkish soldiers were also killed on Thursday by Syrian warplanes, the Turkish military announced. It was the first time Turkish soldiers had been killed by Syrian government forces while fighting inside Syria since the civil war there began, the Turkish military said.
The Turkish troops were advancing toward Al Bab, a city in the north held by the Islamic State, close to the border with Turkey, the military said.
The announcement that three soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded heightened the tensions between Syria and Turkey, neighbors that have powerful allies. The Syrian government is backed by Russia and Iran. Turkey, a member of NATO, began a major offensive in northern Syria in August as part of its fight against the Islamic State.
Turkey’s prime minister, Binali Yildirim, told Hurriyet, a leading Turkish newspaper, that the attack would “not be left unanswered,” and he said it would not deter his country’s army from its mission in northern Syria.
Mr. Yildirim also reaffirmed the assessment of Turkey’s military chief, Gen. Hulusi Akar, that the attack was carried out by Syrian government warplanes.
Some on the ground raised questions about whether the strike was undertaken by Syrian government forces. A network of activists who monitor the skies over Syria said Thursday that its watchers had spotted a Syrian aircraft taking off after 2 a.m. and also a Russian aircraft at about the same time as the strike on Turkish forces occurred. It is impossible to know where the planes that were sighted went; they could easily have had another destination, the network said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a network based in Britain that monitors news from Syria, said that the strike was by the Islamic State. But the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is not known to have combat aircraft.
Like Turkey, the Syrian rebels oppose the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The Turkish troops had gone into Syria largely to stop an advance by Kurdish rebels, who are also trying to reach Al Bab to dislodge the Islamic State. The Turks see the Kurds as a threat to security as serious as the Islamic State, in part because Kurdish groups inside Turkey have waged a guerrilla war against the government.
Turkey wants to stop the Kurds from reaching the city in part because, if the Kurds succeed, it will enable them to gain a portion of the land between two Kurdish-held areas along the Syrian-Turkish border and increases their potential for joining the regions.
The Americans have said that they are not taking part in the fight for Al Bab.
On Thursday morning, Turkish troops, backed by Syrian Arab fighters, had almost reached Al Bab, according to rebel commanders. They said they were a little more than half a mile from the city when they were hit by the government jets.
Although this is the first time that the Turkish military has reported the deaths of its soldiers by Syrian government planes, Turkish troops have died while fighting the Islamic State in Syria.
Also on Thursday morning, a car packed with explosives blew up in the parking lot of the governor’s office in the southern Turkish city of Adana, shaking buildings for blocks around, according to local news reports. Two people were killed and 21 were wounded, according to government estimates.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Deeper into Syria, in the eastern part of Aleppo, which is held by antigovernment rebels, the Syrian government continued to batter residential areas as it has for more than a week after a brief pause, according to doctors in Aleppo and residents of rebel-held areas
Syrian civil defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescued a boy from the rubble of an attack in Aleppo on Thursday. Credit Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
At least 12 people in eastern Aleppo were killed on Thursday, according to residents in the city communicating by WhatsApp. There are about 250,000 people in the city’s east, and most have been unable to leave because the roads are held by government forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/world/middleeast/syria-warplanes-turkey.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
By ALISSA J. RUBIN, KARAM SHOUMALI and ERIC SCHMITT
NOV. 24, 2016
Rescue workers in Aleppo rescue a boy from rubble on Thursday after a reported bomb attack in the city’s Bab al-Nairab neighborhood.
Credit Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States military suffered its first combat death in Syria on Thursday when a service member was killed in the northern part of the country, an area where the Americans are helping to organize an offensive against the Islamic State.
American warplanes have been bombing targets inside Syria to help tens of thousands of militia fighters try to oust the Islamic State from Raqqa, the group’s stronghold in the country.
American forces are on the ground as well. More than 300 members of the United States Special Operations Forces are in Syria to help recruit, train and advise the Kurdish and Arab fighters who are trying to encircle the Islamic State [ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/world/middleeast/us-backed-militia-opens-drive-on-isis-capital-in-syria.html ] in Raqqa, cut off its supplies and ultimately retake the city.
The Special Operations Forces member who died on Thursday was killed by an improvised explosive device in the vicinity of Ayn Issa in northern Syria, United States military officials said.
“I am deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement, using one of the names for the Islamic State. “It is a painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe.”Though the Obama administration has sought to limit the number of American soldiers in the fight against the Islamic State, the death on Thursday demonstrates how volatile and deadly the campaign against the group is in Syria and Iraq. American service members have been killed in Iraq as well, and this month the United States acknowledged killing 119 civilians in Iraq and Syria since it began military operations against the Islamic State in 2014.
Three Turkish soldiers were also killed on Thursday by Syrian warplanes, the Turkish military announced. It was the first time Turkish soldiers had been killed by Syrian government forces while fighting inside Syria since the civil war there began, the Turkish military said.
The Turkish troops were advancing toward Al Bab, a city in the north held by the Islamic State, close to the border with Turkey, the military said.
The announcement that three soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded heightened the tensions between Syria and Turkey, neighbors that have powerful allies. The Syrian government is backed by Russia and Iran. Turkey, a member of NATO, began a major offensive in northern Syria in August as part of its fight against the Islamic State.
Turkey’s prime minister, Binali Yildirim, told Hurriyet, a leading Turkish newspaper, that the attack would “not be left unanswered,” and he said it would not deter his country’s army from its mission in northern Syria.
Mr. Yildirim also reaffirmed the assessment of Turkey’s military chief, Gen. Hulusi Akar, that the attack was carried out by Syrian government warplanes.
Some on the ground raised questions about whether the strike was undertaken by Syrian government forces. A network of activists who monitor the skies over Syria said Thursday that its watchers had spotted a Syrian aircraft taking off after 2 a.m. and also a Russian aircraft at about the same time as the strike on Turkish forces occurred. It is impossible to know where the planes that were sighted went; they could easily have had another destination, the network said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a network based in Britain that monitors news from Syria, said that the strike was by the Islamic State. But the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is not known to have combat aircraft.
Like Turkey, the Syrian rebels oppose the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The Turkish troops had gone into Syria largely to stop an advance by Kurdish rebels, who are also trying to reach Al Bab to dislodge the Islamic State. The Turks see the Kurds as a threat to security as serious as the Islamic State, in part because Kurdish groups inside Turkey have waged a guerrilla war against the government.
Turkey wants to stop the Kurds from reaching the city in part because, if the Kurds succeed, it will enable them to gain a portion of the land between two Kurdish-held areas along the Syrian-Turkish border and increases their potential for joining the regions.
The Americans have said that they are not taking part in the fight for Al Bab.
On Thursday morning, Turkish troops, backed by Syrian Arab fighters, had almost reached Al Bab, according to rebel commanders. They said they were a little more than half a mile from the city when they were hit by the government jets.
Although this is the first time that the Turkish military has reported the deaths of its soldiers by Syrian government planes, Turkish troops have died while fighting the Islamic State in Syria.
Also on Thursday morning, a car packed with explosives blew up in the parking lot of the governor’s office in the southern Turkish city of Adana, shaking buildings for blocks around, according to local news reports. Two people were killed and 21 were wounded, according to government estimates.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Deeper into Syria, in the eastern part of Aleppo, which is held by antigovernment rebels, the Syrian government continued to batter residential areas as it has for more than a week after a brief pause, according to doctors in Aleppo and residents of rebel-held areas
Syrian civil defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescued a boy from the rubble of an attack in Aleppo on Thursday. Credit Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
At least 12 people in eastern Aleppo were killed on Thursday, according to residents in the city communicating by WhatsApp. There are about 250,000 people in the city’s east, and most have been unable to leave because the roads are held by government forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/world/middleeast/syria-warplanes-turkey.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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