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CNN
The US military has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from Jordan into southern Syria for the first time, positioning it near the US-Coalition training base at At Tanf, three US defense officials confirmed to CNN Tuesday. HIMARS had been previously used to strike ISIS targets from firing positions in Turkey and Jordan. The system has also been deployed in Iraq to hit ISIS positions there.
"We have increased our combat power in that area," US Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon earlier this month. "We have increased our presence and our footprint and prepared for any threat that is presented by the pro-regime forces," Dillon added.
Privately, US military officials say they are hopeful matters will remain calm and no more US military action will be required. And publicly, senior officials have insisted that the clashes with pro-regime fighters are purely in self-defense and that the US and the coalition will remain focused on battling ISIS.
"Those are self-defense strikes and the commander on the ground has the authority to take whatever action necessary and I support that," Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
Al-Masdar
Due to a recent border offensive by the SAA, the US-led coalition no longer shares a frontline with ISIS in southern Syria which may in turn prompt American forces to retreat into Jordan.
"We have increased our combat power in that area," US Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon earlier this month. "We have increased our presence and our footprint and prepared for any threat that is presented by the pro-regime forces," Dillon added.