Over 400 US Marines to withdraw from anti-IS operation in Syria

30 November 2017, 5:45 pm

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BEIRUT — Over 400 US Marines involved in battling the Islamic State terror group in Syria are being withdrawn as part of a cut in forces after the capture of jihadist capital Raqqa, the US-led coalition says.

“The Marines supported Coalition partner forces with precise artillery strikes in the fight against ISIS,” the coalition says in a statement. “With the city liberated and ISIS on the run, the unit has been ordered home. Its replacements have been called off.”

The coalition’s director of operations Brigadier General Jonathan Braga calls the move “a real sign of progress” as the jihadists have seen the vast swaths of ground they seized across Syria and Iraq in 2014 reduced to just a few remaining pockets.

— AFP