US heavily involved in assault in Syria

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of Syrian fighters and their U.S. advisers were airlifted by U.S. helicopters across enemy lines on Tuesday and Wednesday in a bold operation to cut off the western approaches to Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State.

It was the first time the United States has carried out an air assault in its campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, and the attack reflected the leeway the Trump administration has given its commanders to carry out operations without prolonged review in Washington.

In a significant commitment of U.S. forces, Marine Corps howitzers and Army Apache attack helicopters provided firepower for the operation. Army surface-to-surface Himars rockets, based in northern Syria, may be used. U.S. Special Operations forces are advising the Syrian fighters on the ground, although a military spokesman asserted that they are not in direct, front-line combat.

The objectives of the offensive are to seize the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River, the nearby town of Tabqa and a local airfield. The hope is to take the dam intact, but the structure is still under the control of the Islamic State.

“The fighting is raging on as I speak and is expected to last several weeks until the dam, airfield and city are free from ISIS control,” said Col. Joseph E. Scrocca, the spokesman for the U.S.-led command in Baghdad.

Important details of the operation, including how many Syrian fighters and U.S. advisers were involved, were not disclosed.

As the operation unfolded, Syrian state television and local residents asserted that at least 30 civilians were killed in an airstrike on a school in a rural area of Raqqa province early Tuesday, according to residents, activists and state television. Those reports said civilians had taken shelter in the school before it was attacked.