DAMASCUS, SYRIA (17:35 P.M.) – On Saturday, Iraqi military commander Shakir Abid said a unit of Norwegian special forces had been allowed to enter Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing in western Anbar.

The Norwegian unit arrived at the Al-Tanf region on the Syrian side of the border, home to US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) that have become the target of an ongoing offensive by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) along the Damascus-Baghdad highway.

The Iraqi Army, Iraqi border guards and Iraqi Federal Police notably provided the Norwegian contingent safe passage to link up with US and British forces already deployed inside eastern Homs, despite vocal objections by the government in Damascus.

Shakir Abid also said the Islamic State was present 50 kilometers north of the border crossing area and that fighting continued in that desert region.

According to Washington, US-led coalition forces have been active in the Al-Tanf border region for months alongside vetted FSA fighters originally from Deir Ezzor province.

With the SAA and paramilitary contingents advancing ever closer to the Al-Tanf border crossing as we speak, the United States Air Force has responded with force on two occasions.