US Sends Troops to Train Syrian Rebels in Turkey to Fight ISIL

Some 40 US members of the Special Forces arrived in Turkey to assist in training the Syrian opposition.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 40 US military personnel arrived in Turkey to assist in training the Syrian opposition to fight against the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group, local media reported Thursday.

Syrian government forces are engaged in a fight against rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the ISIL.

The US soldiers, all members of the Special Forces, are to join their Turkish colleagues at a military base in the central Turkish province of Kirsehir, the Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing unidentified sources.

The training will start in 10 days and will be held in groups of 400, according to the newspaper's sources. Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is currently recruiting Syrians to join the program, according to the newspaper.

In late February, Washington and Ankara agreed that the United States will send over 400 soldiers to Turkey to train the FSA rebels seeking to overthrow Syria's President Bashar Assad.

A US-led international coalition of more than 60 countries are conducting airstrikes against the IS in Syria and Iraq.

According to UN estimates, the Syrian Civil War has claimed at least 220,000 lives since mass protests evolved into a fully fledged war in 2011.