Military Times:
Militants from the Islamic State group got control of military equipment and weapons, possibly including air defense equipment, when they recaptured the Syrian town of Palmyra, the top U.S. general leading the fight against ISIS told reporters on Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said Russian forces and the Syrian government took their eye off the ball and lost Palmyra and will likely try to take it back again. But if they don’t, he said, the U.S.-led coalition will take action, particularly if insurgents start moving weapons out of the city.
“Anything they seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will,” Townsend said, adding that ISIS likely has some armored vehicles, various guns and other heavy weapons there.
Townsend said he anticipates that the coalition will have opportunities soon to strike the equipment and kill the militants operating it. “We will strike it if we see it moving away from Palmyra,” he said. “I think … as long as it stays in Palmyra, the Russians will have the lead and the regime will have the lead to deal with that.”
The coalition routinely communicates with Russia to reduce the risk of aircraft colliding in the skies above Syria. If the coalition decides to take action around Palmyra, Townsend said the Russians would be notified to avoid any potential mishaps in the air.
Islamic State militants retook Palmyra from Syrian troops on Sunday, scoring a major advance by taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian focus on Aleppo. Palmyra was taken over by ISIS last year and the militants spent 10 months in control, blowing up temples and other historic objects. Nine months ago Russian and Syrian forces regained the city amid much fanfare.
I think they failed to consolidate their gains and they got distracted by the things they were doing, took their eye off the ball there. The enemy sensed weakness and struck and gained a victory that I think will probably be fleeting,” said Townsend. “I think this is probably an embarrassment to them (the Russians).”
Townsend said the complicating factor in any coalition attack on the city is that it’s difficult to tell Syrian government and Russian forces from Islamic State fighters there. He said the U.S. is staying out of it for now, giving Russia time to sort it out.
On plans to oust ISIS from Raqqa, its Syrian headquarters, Townsend said the coalition has trained more than 3,000 Syrian rebel forces, but he will probably need “double or triple” that number to launch the offensive…
