WASHINGTON (APP) - The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group aims to open a new front in southern Syria in addition to its ongoing offensive in the northeast, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday.
"We will aggressively pursue opportunities to build pressure on ISIL in Syria from the south, complementing our existing, robust efforts from northeastern Syria," he said in a speech to US troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. ISIL is another term for the Islamic State group.
Carter said the move will help Jordanian security and further split IS theaters of operation in Syria and Iraq.
At the moment, the main coalition effort is centered on recapturing the Manbij pocket in northern Syria.
That offensive is being led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, an Arab-Kurdish coalition.
US-backed rebels also have tried to attack IS from the south, but so far without success.