U.S. raises the stakes in Syria with a mobile missile system
BEIRUT — The U.S. has deployed a truck-mounted missile system into Syria, an official said Wednesday, to a group of rebels and U.S. military advisers that have repeatedly clashed with government forces.
The deployment raises the stakes in eastern Syria, where Iranian-sponsored pro-government forces have outflanked U.S. advisers and rebels holding the Tanf border crossing to establish their own link to Iraq for the first time in years. They are now waiting for pro-Iranian forces to link up with them on the Iraqi side of the border while preparing to march on Islamic State positions to the north, in the Euphrates River Valley.
Shifting the HIMARS missile system into eastern Syria from Jordan will give the U.S. a precise, long range weapon to protect its advisers and allies in Tanf and to attack Islamic State militants farther downfield. It has a range of about 185 miles.
The deployment also insures that the military can protect itself from attacks in the area when weather would limit the ability of strike aircraft to reach there in time.
The Pentagon official requested anonymity.
U.S.-backed rebels were advancing north along the Syrian-Iraqi frontier, against Islamic State militants, last week when progovernment forces cut them off with a flanking maneuver.
U.S. special forces operators are embedded with the rebels in an advisory capacity, the Pentagon says, though they have fought alongside their allies in defense battles.
Underscoring the ongoing violence, a barrage of airstrikes and artillery shells pummeled different areas of southern Daraa province Wednesday, leaving at least eight people dead, including children, first responders and activists said.