Syrian War News Updates -- May 11, 2017

The Drive: US Gives Syrian Kurds Combat Vehicles, Mortars, Anti-Tank Weapons, and More

The Pentagon is pushing ahead with a plan to arm Kurdish groups ahead of a major offensive against ISIS, in spite of Turkish objections.

Within 24 hours of President Donald Trump’s administration announcing America’s plans to arm Kurdish groups in Syria, deliveries of weapons and other equipment have begun arriving into the country’s northern region. The move is likely to further inflame tensions between the United States and its ally Turkey, which is just one facet of an increasingly complex situation, as The War Zone just covered in depth.

On May 9, 2017, the Trump Administration declared it was moving ahead with plans to support Kurdish rebels in northern Syria ahead of a assault on the city of Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital in the country. The organizations in question include the People’s Protection Units, more commonly referred to by their Kurdish Acronyms YPG and YPJ, which Turkish authorities view as terrorists. On May 10, 2017, images and video began to emerge on social media of the first batches of supplies moving into the region, which Kurds refer to a Rojava.

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Syrian War News Updates -- May 11, 2017

US Special Ops Moving Quickly to Arm Kurds in Syria -- Military.com
Turkey threatens military action against US-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters -- Washington Post
Turkey Warns US of Blowback From Decision to Arm Kurds in Syria -- Newsweek
US-backed Syria fighters clear ISIL mines from Tabqa town and dam -- The National
ISIS surrenders control of key Syrian city of Tabqah, US Central Command says -- FOX News
Coalition: Capture of IS-held town undermines militant group -- AP
US-backed rebels say they wrested key Syrian city from ISIS -- CNN
Syrian rebels take one of final towns in the march towards Isil capital of Raqqa -- The Telegraph
US-backed Syria militias 'seize Tabqa' in step towards Raqqa assault -- Euronews
US-backed forces retake strategic Syrian city, dam from ISIS -- The Hill
As fighting ebbs in west Syria, army looks east -- AFP
Army makes gains in rebel area of Damascus: monitor -- AFP
Bashar Assad: Syria, Russia, Iran to Deter Violations of De-Escalation Deal -- Sputnik
Assad Says De-Escalation Zones Chance for Rebels to 'Reconcile' -- US News and World Report/Reuters
Bashar Assad on Result of Geneva Talks on Syria: 'It Is Null' -- Sputnik
Reports: Unusual troop movements in Jordan near Syrian border -- Arutz Sheva
Jordanians 'won't support ground intervention in Syria' -- Al Jazeera
Netanyahu to Putin: Syrian 'Safe Zones' Must Not Serve as Bases for Iran, Hezbollah -- Haaretz
Russia Seeks Accord With U.S. on Iran Role in Syria Safe Zones -- Bloomberg
Hezbollah says it has secured Lebanon's border with Syria -- ABC News/AP
Trump Claims Syria’s Assad Still Has Chemical Weapons -- Sputnik
Syrian doctors forced to crowdfund safer underground hospitals due to aid rules -- Guardian
Who is fighting in Syria’s civil war? -- Zachary Laub, Council on Foreign Relations