Pentagon advising State Dept. on Syria truce

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

The Department of Defense is in an advisory role in U.S.-Russia deal for a truce in Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

“We've had uniform people providing guidance to the State Department and they're in negotiations,” Peter Cook told reporters, referring to the ongoing Syrian talks in Geneva.

“We're in an advisory role but in terms of the negotiations themselves, they've been led by the State Department and Secretary [of State John] Kerry."

Noting the Pentagon’s sole mission in Syria as fighting Daesh, Cook said the U.S. military is watching the broader conflict in the war-torn country in order to ensure that the fighting does not affect Washington’s war against Daesh.

Cook did not gave details about what advice the Pentagon provided Kerry’s team.

A Pentagon official speaking to Anadolu Agency on the on the condition of anonymity said that military officials’ advising role is “very limited” and focused only on tactical recommendations about the U.S. war against Daesh.

“Our uniform people are not in the negotiation room with Russians and other parties to the talks,” the official said, adding that they are not “mapping areas inside Syria” for the diplomats.

Last week the U.S. and Russia reached an agreement on a short-term cessation of hostilities between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime forces and opposition groups around Latakia and the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

Kerry said Monday that the truce worked well over the weekend and American and Russian delegations in Geneva tried to expand the truce deal into Aleppo where Assad, with the support of Russia, has launched an offensive.

Noting his hopes for parties to abide by the truce deal, Cook was also cautious about the current deal.

"We have to be realistic," he said. "It's been a challenge so far. We've seen the cessation of hostilities fray."

Cook announced that the Pentagon confirmed a U.S. airstrike April 22 killed Sudanese national Abu Sa'ad al-Sudani, also known as Abu Isa Al Amriki, a Daesh "external attack planner", and his wife, Australian national Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad, also known as Umm Isa Amriki.

According to the spokesman, the strike happened near the Syrian town of Al-Bab 42 kilometers (26 miles) northeast to Aleppo.

Cook said both militants were active in recruiting foreign fighters and had a past with several plots against Western interests and were plotting to target the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Despite being pressed by reporters, Cook declined to confirm on whether the terrorist were plotting to strike the U.S. homeland.

Reiterating comments by Defense Secretary Ash Carter who said earlier in the day that the Daesh attack in northern Iraq earlier this week which resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL Charles Keating was a “surprise”, Cook said that it was not anticipated to take place at that time and forced the U.S. to take direct military action.

Keating was part of a quick reaction force to help U.S. advisers out of Tal Asqaf in northern Mosul where they remained under fire by Daesh militants who breached peshmerga lines.