US to Look for New Rebel Groups in Syria to Cooperate in Fight Against ISIL

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war four and a half years ago, the United States and some of its allies have supported what they term "moderate" armed Syrian opposition factions, as they do not believe Syrian President Bashar Assad to be the country's legitimate authority.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will identify and provide support to additional rebel groups in Syria that are fighting the Islamic State terrorists, a senior US administration official told reporters on Friday.

"We will also be looking for other groups on the ground who are fighting ISIL," the official stated.

"As we work with these groups…we may be able to look at additional types of equipment. Initially we [the United States] are certainly not talking about some of the higher-end types of equipment," the official said when asked if Washington would provide forces in Syria with high-end weaponry including MANPADs.

The United States will pause the training of “moderate” rebels in Syria, but will continue to support those who have already graduated US train and equip program, the official said.

"Right now, given the complexity of the situation, we are going to take sort of an operational pause." "We will continue to support the fighters we already have."

The adjusted US strategy targeting the Islamic State terrorists in Syria should make progress within the next six months, the senior US administration official told reporters.

"It is not halting the program, it is adapting it and to make it more effective and to apply immediately to the forces on the ground fighting ISIL now as we look to make more progress on it in the next six months," the official stated.