US will support Syrian rebels by air if they attacked

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Tuesday 04 Aug 2015 - 08:56 Makkah mean time-19-10-1436 Washington, (IINA) - Syrian rebels backed by the United States will now have air cover if they come under attack after President Barack Obama signed off on the decision, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN. This comes after the United States conducted airstrikes last week to protect two groups after they came under attack: U.S.-trained rebels and the U.S.-affiliated rebels of the 30th division. U.S. aircraft came in after the attack on a compound where members of the New Syria Force, which is the U.S.-trained-and-equipped rebel group, were located as well members of the 30th division. The United States believes that the attack was carried out by the al-Nusra front, which is a group affiliated with al Qaeda. The U.S. aircraft came in, provided air support and "successfully repelled the attack," one U.S. official told CNN. The strikes last week signified for the first time there was actual policy and actionable decision to support those forces. "We view the Syrian forces trained and equipped by the Department of Defense as partners in the counter-ISIL effort. These forces are being provided with a wide range of coalition support in their mission to counter ISIL, which includes defensive fires support to protect them," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told CNN. The Wall Street Journal first reported the presidential authorization. SM/IINA