US Airstrikes on Syrian Government-backed Forces New Twist to Syrian War

U.S. officials say U.S. airstrikes against government-backed troops in eastern Syria late Wednesday and early Thursday were purely defensive. A Pentagon official said Thursday the airstrikes were launched after the Syrian government and its local supporters posed a threat to the Syrian Democratic Forces and their U.S. advisers in eastern Deir el-Zour province. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports renewed fighting on several fronts in Syria gives scant hope for a peaceful solution to the seven-year war.