Assad: Any Military Op In Syria Without Gov't Approval Is 'Invasion'

Damascus will consider any military operation without the approval of the Syrian authorities to be an invasion, be it Raqqa or any other city, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Russian journalists.

Media reports suggested on Wednesday that 1,000 more troops would be sent into Syria to back the offensive against Daesh in the city of Raqqa.

On March 9, the US-led coalition against Daesh confirmed that a US Marine Corps artillery unit had deployed to Syria to aid local forces in the Raqqa offensive.

"Any military operation in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government is illegal, and I said if there's any troops on the Syrian soil, this is an invasion, whether to liberate Raqqa or any other place. This is first. Second, we all know that the [US-led] coalition has never been serious about fighting ISIS [Daesh] or the terrorists, so we have to think about...