New U.S. plan to counter the Islamic State in Syria will arm groups focused on Raqqa

The Pentagon’s overhaul of how it counters the Islamic State in Syria could create at least one clear winner: the Sunni Arab groups and their Kurdish allies there that have engaged in heavy combat against the militants for months.

As U.S. officials explained on Friday how they will scale back and alter the Pentagon’s maligned $500 million train-and-equip program, they cited the success, largely attributed to the Kurds, in taking back the Syrian border town of Kobane last year from the militants. The Pentagon’s effort has so far focused on establishing a Syrian rebel force to counter the Islamic State, but it will be adapted to instead aid existing groups that are already fighting.