Social Democratic Front

The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East made a secret trip to northern Syria on Feb. 24 to meet a U.S.-backed alliance fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), officials said.

General Joseph Votel, who heads U.S. Central Command (Centcom), met with leaders from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

An alliance of Kurdish and Arab rebels advanced Dec. 24 against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria's north in a new offensive backed by U.S.-led air strikes, its spokesman said.

Talal Sello, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, told AFP the SDF offensive was launched late Dec. 23 in the Aleppo province.