US fired rockets at IS in Syria from Jordan for first time: report

The United States fired rockets from Jordan for the first time targeting Islamic State positions in Syria last week, the Military Times reported Friday.

According to the Military Times, US defense officials said that GPS guided rockets were launched using the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) on March 4th from a small detachment of less than 100 troops.

Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said that the strike was conducted in support of Syrian rebels who who seized an IS military base near the key border crossing of al-Tanf, known as al-Waleed in Iraq.

The truck-mounted missile guidance system has a range of up to 185 miles.

The Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011 as a popular uprising but later became a civil war in which more than 250,000 people have been killed, has become even more complex with the rise of jihadist groups such as IS.

IS has exploited the war in Syria and instability in Iraq to seize large swathes of territory in both countries.

Jordan, a member of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington, has intensified its air raids against IS since the jihadists last year burned alive one of its pilots who crashed in Syria.
 [ i24news.tv]
12/3/16
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