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STORY: The resurgence of fighting in Syria has brought into focus the role of foreign powers in the country. With many having deployed troops since 2011, who are the foreign armies involved in Syria?:: Turkey:: October 11, 2017Turkey has deployed troops across northwestern Syria in support of the 2011 rebel uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.Turkey wants to weaken Syrian Kurdish armed groups which carved out autonomous enclaves along the Turkish border during the civil war.:: February 27, 2020Ankara views the groups as an extension of the Kurdish Workers' Party, which it deems a terrorist group and has been waging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.:: September 10, 2013It also wants a return home for some three million Syrians who have fled to Turkey during the war.Turkey has mounted multiple operations in Syria involving thousands of troops since 2016.:: Iran and allies:: October 17, 2015Iran deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria as early as 2012 to help Assad. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, played a big part.::February 25, 2019For Iran, Assad is a crucial ally, part of its "Axis of Resistance" to Israel and U.S. influence in the Middle East.Other Tehran-backed Shi'ite Islamist groups, from Afghanistan and Iraq, have also played a vital combat role. :: Israeli army handout:: Released December 13, 2023Iran's presence in Syria has been a big point of concern for Israel, prompting it to carry out frequent airstrikes.:: Russia:: October, 2015Russian forces have had a presence militarily in Syria since the Cold War, but intervened on Assad's side in 2015.Coordinating with Iran they operated from an airbase in Latakia province with Russian air power decisively tilting the conflict Assad's way.:: Released October 5, 2023On the ground, Russian troops are involved in government-held areas, with military police deployed during attempts to de-escalate fighting.:: United States:: March 11, 2019U.S. military intervention in Syria began in 2014 against the Islamic State jihadist group that had declared its rule over a third of Syria and Iraq.:: July 29, 2016Working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) they fought to drive Islamic State from areas it had captured in Syria's north and east.Declaring the battle with Islamic State almost won, President Donald Trump announced in 2018 he wanted to pull out U.S. troops.But the plan was softened after facing criticism for leaving a void that Iran and Russia would fill.Around 9,000 U.S. troops remain in Syria to support the SDF.Assad's government views the U.S. forces as occupiers.