US will send 400 troops to train moderate Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON - The Associated Press

Syrian youths take part in their last training on December 8, 2014 before being sent to the frontline along with rebel fighters from the Jaysh al-Islam brigades (Army of Islam) in Eastern al-Ghouta, a rebel-held region outside the capital Damascus. AFP Photo

The United States will send 400 troops to train moderate Syrian rebels this spring. Pentagon spokesman Maj. James Brindle confirmed the planned deployment early Jan. 16 morning. The U.S. plan was first reported by Defense One Jan. 15.

Last month, President Barack Obama signed into law a massive defense policy bill that endorsed his plan to fight militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including air strikes and training Iraqis and moderate Syrian rebels. The law authorized the training and equipping of moderate Syrian rebels battling the extremists for two years, and provided $5 billion to train Iraqis battling the militants who brutally rule large sections of the two countries.