US-Led Forces Working With Islamic State Group in Raqqa: Russia

“One gets the impression that the Americans are using (IS group) to offer stubborn resistance to the movement of government troops," the general said.

Moscow has leveled heavy accusations at U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria, who it claims is expediting the Islamic State group's exit from its Raqqa stronghold in an effort to undermine government efforts to quell terrorist activity in the country.

"Instead of eliminating terrorists guilty of killing hundreds and thousands of Syrian civilians, the U.S.-led coalition together with the Democratic Forces Union controlled by it enters into collusion with ringleaders of the ISIL (Islamic State group), who give up the settlements they had seized without fighting and head to the provinces where the Syrian government forces are active," Surovkin said, according to Russian News Agency TASS.The charges, made Friday by the commander of Russia's forces in Syria, Colonel General Sergey Surovkin, contradict Pentagon claims that U.S. special operators, Kurdish fighters and allied Syrian Democratic Forces intend to engage in fierce door-to-door urban warfare.

The commander further claimed that Russian forces have observed a peaceful exit of the Islamist militants from Raqqa in the direction of Palmyra, which allegedly stems from an agreement made between the Islamic State group and Kurdish forces.

Surovkin added that Islamic State group attempts to flee south from Raqqa have met a punishing response from Russian troops who destroyed several convoys. Regardless, the U.S.-led forces' moves raise questions about the alliance's intentions.

“One gets the impression that the Americans are using (the Islamic State group) to offer stubborn resistance to the movement of government troops, making use of the legend about the fight against international terrorism in Syria," the commander said, noting that Western news agencies have assisted Washington's misleading claims by proliferating fabricated stories about fierce clashes between U.S.-led armed personnel and the Islamist group.

Separately, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate raised the same questions about U.S. moves in the war-torn country.Surovikin also noted that the U.S. was clearly attempting to hamper forces of the Syrian Arab Republic who are undertaking efforts to secure the country's southern border, citing the “absurd assertions” and of Washington, who “vaguely explains” that government forces pose a threat to U.S.-led forces.

"Having declared the goal of fighting international terrorism, the coalition strikes Syrian troops while letting IS militants exit the encircled areas unhampered, thus boosting terrorist groupings around Palmyra and Deir el-Zour," the senior general said. "It raises a question (about) why they do it and what their real goals are."

Rudskoi also noted that Russian, Turkish and Iranian efforts to establish “de-confliction zones” in the country have ushered in the final days of a harsh internal conflict that has ripped the country apart for over six years.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/US-Led-Forces-Working-With-Islamic-State-Group-in-Raqqa-Russia-20170609-0032.html