BREAKING: Russia Releases Photos Claiming to Show US Spec Ops Equipment in ISIS Positions in Syria

While coverage of the Islamic State’s reign of terror in Iraq and Syria has quietly disappeared from the mainstream media, allegations and photos of the United States supporting and funding the group continue to come to the forefront.

The latest battle is occurring over Deir er-Zor, the largest city in eastern Syria, where both the U.S. and Russia claim to be fighting against ISIS. However, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, aerial images of ISIS positions included equipment from U.S. Army Special Forces.

The aerial photos of ISIS" territory north of #Deir_ez_Zor where #USA special operation troops are seen https://t.co/lH6u8H9bvZ pic.twitter.com/gjqlQubi9o

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) September 24, 2017

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that U.S. Special Operations Forces units “enable US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces units to smoothly advance through the ISIS formations” and because they are facing no resistance from ISIS militants, the Syrian Democratic Forces units are “advancing along the left shore of the Euphrates toward Deir er-Zor.”

Advertisment

Russia’s MoD claimed the aerial photos were taken on Sept. 8-12 over ISIS locations north of Deir er-Zor. The equipment from American Special Operations Forces came in the form of “a large number” of American Hummer armored vehicles.

The statement noted that even though the presence of the Special Operations Forces would indicate that they were aware of the terrorist group’s presence in the area, its actions suggest that “the US troops feel safe in terrorist controlled regions,” because there were no calls for an organized screening patrol and there is no evidence of US-led coalition airstrikes to drive out the militants.

READ MORE:  NATO, US, & UK Assemble Largest Troop Buildup On Russian Border Since Cold War

“The shots clearly show the US SOF units located at strongholds that had been equipped by the ISIS terrorists. Though there is no evidence of assault, struggle or any US-led coalition airstrikes to drive out the militants. Despite that the US strongholds being located in the ISIS areas, no screening patrol has been organized at them. This suggests that the US troops feel safe in terrorist controlled regions.”

Image via Russian Ministry of Defense

Both the statement and the aerial images from Russia’s Ministry of Defense serve as a reminder that the lines are often blurred when it comes to the difference between the Syrian Democratic Forces (which openly receive U.S. funding) and ISIS militants (which have mysteriously received help from the U.S. on a number of occasions).

There have been accusations of the U.S. paying the salaries of the “moderate rebels” it was training in Syria, with one rebel commander reportedly saying in July that “U.S. support had been waning for months,” but the rebels “had been given their salaries as normal last month.”

Russian President Putin alluded to the idea in 2014, when he called out the Obama Administration for arming and training “the Syrians that were fighting Assad,” and then noted that both the “moderate rebels” and the “ISIS militants” are mercenaries, often fighting for the side that pays them the largest salary.

“Another threat that President Obama mentioned was ISIS,” Putin said. “Well who on earth armed them? Who armed the Syrians that were fighting with Assad? Who created the necessary political information and climate that facilitated this situation? Who pushed for the delivery of arms to the area? Do you really not understand who is fighting in Syria? They are mercenaries mostly. Do you understand they are paid money? Mercenaries fight for whichever side pays more.”

There are also a number of circumstances in which U.S. equipment and funding just happened to benefit the Islamic State. In October 2014, the Pentagon admitted that the U.S. airdropped weapons to ISIS, and blamed “the wind” for the fact that those weapons were not delivered to Kurdish fighters in Kobani.

READ MORE:  Russia Just Called Out US/NATO Role in Afghan Drug Trafficking — Media Silent

In October 2016, the Pentagon was caught paying a PR firm $540 million to create fake terrorist videos—much like the ones purported to show ISIS militants beheading innocent civilians. Then in a 2016 audit, the Department of Defense admitted that it could not account for $1 billion in weapons and equipment that was meant for forces in Syria, but likely ended up in the hands of ISIS.

In 2017, allegations that U.S. Army Special Operations Forces units were found embedded with ISIS militants are no surprise, given the United States’ history of being in the right place at the right time to protect the group from being defeated. As the reports become more and more obvious, it raises the question of whether the U.S. government will ever admit its true role in the conflict.

Don’t Look Now, But the US has Boots on the Ground in the Philippines

From the Manila Times:

“Philippine troops are struggling to defeat hundreds of fighters, who rampaged through Marawi on May 23 flying black flags of the Islamic State group, and have used bomb-proof tunnels, anti-tank weapons and civilians as human shields to fortify their positions.”

In the latest round of fighting, 13 Filipino marines were killed during heavy door-to-door combat on Friday.

The losses have “not diminished our resolve a bit,” Col. Edgard Arevalo said, according to the Associated Press. “It instead primed up our determination to continue our prudent advances to neutralize the enemy, save the innocent lives trapped in the fight, and set the conditions for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi.”

The U.S. special forces are currently offering assistance “pertaining to exercises, training, technical assistance,” another Philippine military spokesman said earlier this week. Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera added that the U.S. special forces currently there are not directly engaged in the fighting.

According to Reuters, direct U.S. participation in combat is against Philippine law, though the Pentagon has had around 50 to 100 special forces troops stationed in the south of the country conducting rotational exercises for years. The Pentagon said it was providing Philippine forces with security assistance and training in the areas of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Without giving further details, it also said it has an additional 300 to 500 troops in the country to support regular training and activities.

Reuters also reported that an anonymous official said this support included aerial surveillance and targeting, electronic eavesdropping, communications assistance, and training. As we saw in Libya in 2011, this manner of assistance is integral to any offensive conducted by allied forces. American troops do not need to be directly involved in combat in order for the U.S. to decisively influence the outcome on the battlefield if they are already providing assistance with surveillance and intelligence.

Renewed American involvement in the Philippines is hardly surprising given that U.S. special forces have assisted the country against militant groups numerous times since 2001. According to the RAND Corporation:

“U.S. forces carry out a wide range of enabling and advisory activities on or near the battlefield, which can include direct support to combat or combat advising in accordance with rules of engagement established by U.S. policy and host-nation agreement, as well as civil affairs and information operations.”

The U.S. has also just supplied its Filipino counterpart with an array of weapons and equipment, including “300 M4 carbines, 200 Glock 21 pistols, 4 M134D Gatling-style machine guns, and 100 M203 grenade launchers delivered May 18-22 to Clark Air Base.”

Though Duterte seemed intent on establishing a new course for his country by aligning with Russia and China — inviting the CIA to assassinate him in the process — ISIS-inspired groups within his country may prove that shaking off the Pentagon may, in fact, be a lot harder than he first hoped. It would appear that the U.S. has no plans to leave the region anytime soon and is most likely just getting warmed up in its renewed military presence in the Asian-Pacific country.

Unsurprisingly, Duterte said he wasn’t even aware that the U.S. was assisting in his country’s battle with Islamist militants. He also made it clear that he had not requested U.S. military assistance. As Reuters explained, it is still unclear if the U.S. went over his head or not, something they are apt at doing in most countries around the world.

As Anti-Media previously reported, the group currently battling the U.S.-backed Philippine forces are an Islamist group known as Maute, composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas. MILF fighters only exist because of a longstanding separatist movement that had the aim of establishing an independent Islamic state for the Filipino Muslim minority. This minority has had centuries of clashes with the Spanish, American, and Filipino governments that have long sought to oppress them. Unsurprisingly, developments toward reaching a peace agreement were derailed partly because Manila is not prepared to concede outright to the militants’ demands.

And yet, this problem was actively warned about in the years prior to these events unfolding right now. According to RAND, the MILF posed a problem due to the following factors:

“Lack of a contingency plan in case the peace process fails, and no policy guidance after signing the CAB [Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro] to address potentially contentious issues. Recommendations include maintaining strong adherence to the peace process and developing a contingency plan in case the peace process fails.” [emphasis added]

It seems like peace could have been achieved a long time ago. If only peace were truly in the interests of those running the show, Philippines may not have had to endure such a conflict.