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Operation Holiday Express delivers gifts to U.S. troops in Syria

U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq bring Christmas cheer to service members

By SALAR SALIM, Associated Press
Published: December 24, 2019, 7:46pm
3 Photos
A U.S. soldier carries Christmas gifts from a helicopter to deliver to his comrades Monday on a base near the al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.
A U.S. soldier carries Christmas gifts from a helicopter to deliver to his comrades Monday on a base near the al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria. (farid abdul-wahid/Associated Press) Photo Gallery

SHADDADEH, Syria — Hundreds of American troops based in Syria have received Christmas gifts thanks to Operation Holiday Express, launched by U.S.-led coalition forces from across the border in neighboring Iraq.

This year, Santa’s sleigh and reindeer were apparently swapped for a workhorse CH-47 Chinook helicopter. But coalition forces still donned jolly red caps as they unloaded boxes of gifts at five locations in eastern Syria, as seen by The Associated Press on Monday.

In addition to the presents, Christmas tunes were provided by a military band from the 1st Infantry Division, flown in from Fort Riley, Kan. The soldiers received stockings stuffed with candies, toiletries and other gifts. Most were donated by military support organizations in the U.S., as well as churches and charity organizations, coalition spokesman Col. Myles Caggins said.

Caggins said the aim of Operation Holiday Express was to bring a little Christmas cheer to those on active duty. AP toured bases in five locations: the al-Omar oil field, Deir el-Zour, Shaddadeh, Hassakeh and Rumeilan.

The U.S. at one point had some 2,000 service members in Syria, mostly taking part in battles against the Islamic State group. The number has dropped since the extremists’ defeat in March, when they lost their last sliver of territory to Kurdish-led fighters backed by Washington.

While President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the bulk of the roughly 1,000 American troops from Syria, he’s made it clear he’ll leave some military forces in the country to help secure the oil fields across eastern Syria from any IS resurgence.

The move has raised a number of difficult legal questions about whether U.S. troops can launch strikes against Syrian, Russian or other forces if they threaten the oil, U.S. officials said last month.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said last month that about 500 or 600 U.S. troops will remain in Syria to counter IS fighters who have been carrying out hit-and-run attacks in recent weeks against Kurdish-led fighters.

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