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DAMASCUS, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 U.S. marines arrived on Monday in Hasakah in preparation for attacking the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria's northern Raqqa province, reported the pan-Arab Mayadeen TV.
The marines are the first batch of another 400, scheduled to arrive in Syria to assist the Kurdish-led groups in this next stage of attacking the IS's de facto capital of Raqqa, said the report.
The U.S. forces arrived in the Kurdish-controlled Rmailan airport which in the Hasakah province, a main stronghold for Kurdish people and fighters.
Arriving U.S. forces will be deployed to areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group, said the report.
In addition to the U.S. forces, 100 Polish soldiers arrived in Rmailan airport two weeks ago, members of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, said the report.
During the course of the six-year-old war in Syria, the United States supported several rebel groups, deeming them "moderates."
However, the groups failed to live to U.S. expectations, partially due to their direct or indirect links to jihadi rebel groups, and their battle failures against IS militants.
However, when the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG) emerged as reliable factions, the U.S. opted to support them as well as allied rebel fighters who emerged later, such as the SDF, comprised of Kurds, Arab and Assyrians.
Deployment of U.S. soldiers is part of a new plan put forward by the Pentagon recently as per the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump, who pledged to extend the fight against militants in Syria, Iraq and beyond during his presidential campaign.
Last Friday, the SDF said they had enough forces to recapture Raqqa from the IS supported by the U.S.-led coalition.
Last year, the SDF, a YPG-supported group, announced a wide-scale offensive against IS posts near Raqqa.
The initial stage of the battles was to recapture areas in Raqqa's northern countryside in order to separate the city from its countryside.
The battles raged for months, until recently, when the SDF supported by the U.S.-led coalition's air cover finally succeeded to sever the road between Raqqa and IS posts in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour on March 6.
With the SDF advance, the IS most routes out of Raqqa, save for one through the Euphrates River, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group.
