Mattis: US won’t be drawn into Syrian civil war

The United States will not be drawn into Syria’s civil war, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says, despite an increasingly complicated battle space that has seen US warplanes down pro-regime aircraft.

Speaking to reporters on a military plane late Monday as he heads for meetings in Europe, Mattis says the US-led coalition is determined to keep a strict focus on fighting the Islamic State group.

We won’t fire “unless they are the enemy, unless they are ISIS,” he says, using an acronym for the jihadist group.

“We just refuse to get drawn into a fight there in the Syria civil war, we try to end that one through diplomatic engagement.”

His comments come shortly before White House spokesman Sean Spicer issues a statement saying President Bashar al-Assad’s regime may be preparing for a chemical attack against civilians, warning that the Syrian military would pay a “heavy price” if it took such action.

— AFP