"Every two days the US deploys a large amount of weapons, primarily heavy armaments, to the region. They have sent tanks, armored vehicles, missiles, sniper rifles, mortar launchers and other types of weaponry," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Sputnik Turkey. "In addition, the United States has told us that a decision was made to send an additional 1,000 US troops to take part in the Raqqa operation."
US service personnel are expected to serve in a training, advisory and assistance capacity during the anti-Daesh campaign on one of the last militant strongholds across the Middle East. They will not take part in combat, at least initially.
"American soldiers will teach us to use heavy armaments. They will serve as military advisors during the operation and coordinate airstrikes of the US-led coalition planes," the source said.
According to the information provided by the SDF, their forces are currently located 4 kilometers (nearly 2.5 miles) to the north, 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) to the east and 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to the south of Raqqa.
Most recently, Washington sent 400 Marines and Army Rangers to assist the Syrian Democratic Forces in their operation to free Raqqa, which Daesh seized in January 2014. The upcoming deployment, if confirmed, will double the number of US troops sent to Syria.
US troops are reported to have set up bases in northern Syria, including the cities of Kobani, Rimelan, al-Hasakah, al-Hawl, Tel Abyad, Shaddadi and Manbij. More than 1,000 US troops are said to be present in the region, with the majority located to the south of Manbij and Kobani.
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