WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Syrian Arab Coalition is an umbrella group of Sunni Arab ground forces tasked by the United States with fighting the Daesh in Syria. It is one component of the allied Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes Kurdish, Assyrian and Turkmen fighters.
"Up-armored vehicles have been delivered to the Syrian Arab Coalition as part of our existing authorities to enable them. Specifically, these vehicles will help them contend with ISIL's [Daesh's] IED [improvised explosive device] threat as they move toward Raqqa."
At the same time, the spokesperson underscored that there have been no changes to current US policy on assistance to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include the Syrian Arab Coalition.
Since early-November, SDF forces have been involved in a coalition-led operation to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Daesh self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
The operation was criticized by Turkey as Ankara sees the SDF as an enemy because of the fact that Kurds make up the backbone of the group. Turkey considers the YPG to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), labelled as a terrorist group and outlawed in the country.
