DAMASCUS, SYRIA (17:35 P.M.) – On Saturday, Iraqi military commander Shakir Abid said a unit of Norwegian special forces had been allowed to enter Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing in western Anbar.
The Norwegian unit arrived at the Al-Tanf region on the Syrian side of the border, home to US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) that have become the target of an ongoing offensive by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) along the Damascus-Baghdad highway.
The Iraqi Army, Iraqi border guards and Iraqi Federal Police notably provided the Norwegian contingent safe passage to link up with US and British forces already deployed inside eastern Homs, despite vocal objections by the government in Damascus.
Shakir Abid also said the Islamic State was present 50 kilometers north of the border crossing area and that fighting continued in that desert region.
According to Washington, US-led coalition forces have been active in the Al-Tanf border region for months alongside vetted FSA fighters originally from Deir Ezzor province.
With the SAA and paramilitary contingents advancing ever closer to the Al-Tanf border crossing as we speak, the United States Air Force has responded with force on two occasions.
3.6K 12 5 - 3.7KShares
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.