- US, Mideast allies explore Arab military coalition
Months after the Pentagon said it wouldn’t use a controversial type of armor-piercing ammunition that has been blamed for long-term health complications, U.S. aircraft fired thousands of the rounds during two high-profile air raids in Syria in November 2015, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday. – Washington Post’s Checkpoint
The Defense Department might propose that the US send conventional ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time to speed up the fight against ISIS, CNN has learned. - CNN
Countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will meet on Friday for the first time since Donald Trump's U.S. administration took office, to seek common ground ahead of U.N.-backed peace talks in Geneva next week. - Reuters
Syrian Islamist fighters have executed scores of insurgents in the west of the country in an increasingly bloody battle between different militant groups, the SITE Intelligence Group said. - Reuters