Kerry convinced there will be troops on the ground in Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry | Photo: Reuters

"There will need to be people on the ground. I am convinced there will be at the appropriate moment,” said the U.S. Secretary of State. Kerry hinted that a ground invasion of Syria was forthcoming, but that U.S. troops would not play a part.

Until now, the White House has been careful to avoid suggestions of U.S. soldiers on Syrian soil, instead coordinating an alliance of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, purportedly against the Islamic State group.

But in the interview with CNN, Kerry said that he believed the moment would arrive for Middle Eastern countries to send soldiers.

"We are talking about very specific ways to do that with other countries in the region," he said. "There will need to be people on the ground. I am convinced there will be at the appropriate moment.”

"The president has made it very clear that American troops are not part of that equation," he added. "But I do know that there are others who are talking about it. There are people in the region who are capable of that."

The official declined to say which countries might partake in the ground operation.

Last week, the U.S. firmed up a deal with Turkey to start taking part in the fight against the Islamic State, after six months of resistance. Ankara announced its first airstrikes on neighboring Syria Saturday using smart bombs without crossing into Syrian airspace.

However, Kurdish fighters allied with the leftist PKK guerrillas have accused Turkey of collaborating with the Islamic State.

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