A US official said early on Tuesday that the flights have started, while two other American officials said earlier that Obama had approved the flights.
The officials were not authorised to discuss the matter by name, and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The move could mark the first step towards US airstrikes against targets inside Syria.
Earlier on Monday, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said that his country welcomed international support, but added that all efforts must be coordinated by the Syrian government.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut, said it was not yet clear if US officials had communicated with the Syrian government regarding the flights.
Our correspondent, however, said that "behind closed doors" Western intermediaries may have already started talking on how to fight a "common" target - the Islamic State group.
The US is already launching airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq. The group announced last week that it had murdered an American journalist in Syria and was threatening more US hostages.
The Reuters news agency had earlier reported that Washington was planning to send surveillance aircraft, including unmanned drones, to gain a clearer picture of the Islamic State fighters, who have seized large swathes of territory in both Syria and Iraq.
The Wall Street Journal said that the US Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, had asked for additional surveillance planes to be used in Syria.
The surveillance planes would provide information in addition to that already collected by US satellites and informants, the journal said.
'US dilemma'
Joshua Landis, a prominent analyst on Syria, told Al Jazeera that advisers to Obama had been telling the president that the US would only be able to uproot the Islamic State group if they got involved in Syria.
But the dilemma Obama was facing was the lack of partners in Syria, Landis said. Neither the Syrian regime nor the fragmented moderate rebels could be seen as reliable allies.
Landis, who is the director of the centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said that Obama must be clear about what he intended to do in the long-term..........................http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/us-begins-surveillance-flights-over-syria-20148269114530514.html
25/8/14
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Russia is concerned about the US decision to authorize reconnaissance flights over Syria, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday....
ReplyDeleteThe ministry urged Washington to act in accordance with international law. It “clearly says that in the absence of a state’s consent to forcible operations on its territory, it can be authorized only by the UN Security Council,” the ministry said.
http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/747288
29/8/14