WASHINGTON — The United States has decided to allow airstrikes to defend Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military from any attackers, even if the enemies hail from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, US officials said on Sunday. The decision by President Barack Obama, which could deepen the US role in Syria's conflict, aims to shield a still-fledgling group of Syrian fighters armed and trained by the United States to battle Daesh (the so-called IS) militants — not forces loyal to Assad.
But in Syria's messy civil war, Daesh is only one of the threats to the US recruits. The first batch of US-trained forces deployed to northern Syria came under fire on Friday from other militants, triggering the first known US airstrikes to support them.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to confirm details of the decision, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, said the United States would provide offensive strikes to support advances against Daesh targets. The United States would also provide defensive support to repel any attackers.
US officials have long played down the idea that Assad's forces — which have not fired on US-led coalition aircraft bombing Daesh targets in Syria — would turn their sights on the US-backed Syrian rebels. But they cannot rule out the possibility, perhaps in an unintentional clash.
The Pentagon and the White House declined to discuss the decision on rules of engagement or confirm comments by the unnamed US officials.
White House National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey said only the US-trained forces were being provided a wide range of support, including “defensive fires support to protect them” and pointed to Friday's US airstrikes as proof.
“We won't get into the specifics of our rules of engagement, but have said all along that we would take the steps necessary to ensure that these forces could successfully carry out their mission,” Baskey said.
Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith also declined comment on the rules of engagement, saying only that the US military's program focuses “first and foremost” on combating Daesh militants.
“We recognize, though, that many of these groups now fight on multiple fronts, including against the Assad regime, (Daesh) and other terrorists,” Smith said.
The US military launched its program in May to train up to 5,400 fighters a year in what was seen as a test of Obama's strategy of getting local partners to combat extremists and keep US troops off the front lines.
The training program has been challenged from the start, with many candidates being declared ineligible and some even dropping out.
Obama's requirement that they target militants from Daesh has sidelined huge segments of the Syrian opposition focused instead on battling Syrian government forces. The United States has sought to avoid a direct confrontation with Assad. — Reuters
