US-Backed Rebels Threaten American Soldiers in Syria

US special forces soldiers got a chilly reception from Syrian rebel troops when they showed up to help them fight ISIS in the town of al-Rai on Thursday, UPI reports. According to the Telegraph, a video posted to social media shows US troops fleeing the town "under a barrage of abuse and insults." The special forces soldiers were in Syria to assist Turkish troops working with the Free Syrian Army rebel group, themselves financed and supported by the Pentagon, in their efforts against ISIS. But it seems technically being an American ally doesn't necessarily mean you want to work alongside actual Americans.

In the video, members of the Free Syrian Army could be heard chanting "down with America" and calling the US soldiers "crusaders, RT reports. They also called Americans "dogs and pigs." "We won't accept any American here—we're Muslims, not infidels," one rebel says. "Christians and Americans have no place among us," says another. In the face of this protest, the US soldiers left town in trucks and headed back for the Turkish border. A spokesperson for the US State Department calls the response of the Free Syrian Army "not appropriate." And US Central Command says it's looking into the incident. (More Syria stories.)