Marines from an amphibious task force have left their ships in the Middle East and deployed to Syria, establishing an outpost from which they can fire artillery guns in support of the fight to take back the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State, defence officials said.
The deployment marks another escalation in the US war in Syria, and puts conventional US troops in the battle there. Several hundred Special Operations troops have advised local forces there for months, but the Pentagon has shied away from using conventional forces in Syria.
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US troops on the ground in Syria
Raw: US military armoured vehicles moving into the Syrian village of Al-Asliyeh is shown in footage released by Arab 24 news.
The force is part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which left San Diego on Navy ships in October. The Marines on the ground include part of an artillery battery that can fire powerful 155-millimetre shells from M777 Howitzers, two officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deployment.
The expeditionary unit's ground force, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, will man the guns and deliver fire support for US-backed local forces who are preparing an assault on the city. Additional infantrymen from the unit are likely to provide security.
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The new mission was disclosed after members of the Army's elite 75th Ranger Regiment appeared in the Syrian city of Manbij over the weekend in Strykers, heavily armed, eight-wheel armoured vehicles. Defence officials said they are there to discourage Syrian or Turkish troops from taking any moves that could shift the focus away from an assault on Islamic State militants.
The Marine mission has similarities to an operation the Marine Corps undertook about a year ago when the US military was preparing to support an assault on the Iraqi city of Mosul. In that case, a force from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, established a fire base south of the city in support of Iraqi and Kurdish troops who were then carrying out operations to isolate Mosul from Islamic State-held territory around it.
The existence of the outpost near Mosul, originally named Fire Base Bell, became public after it was attacked by rockets March 19, 2016, killing Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin and wounding at least four other Marines. Defence officials said at the time that they had not disclosed the deployment of Marines there because the base was not fully operational, although photographs released by the Defence Department shortly afterward show Marines launching artillery rounds a day before Cardin's death.
Separately, US officials said the Trump administration is considering deploying up to 1000 American soldiers to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force in the fight against Islamic State.
Proponents of the option say it would provide US commanders on the ground greater flexibility to quickly respond to unforeseen opportunities and challenges on the battlefield.
It would also represent a step away from standard practices under President Barack Obama's administration by leaving the ultimate decision on whether to deploy some of those Kuwait-based reserve forces in Syria or Iraq to local commanders.
It's unclear whether the proposal has the support of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis declined to comment .
Washington Post, AP