A U.S. soldier stands on the top of his armored vehicle behind a heavy machine gun on a road that links to Raqqa, Syria, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The U.S. has up to 1,000 troops in Syria mostly involved in training and advising the local forces against IS. Kurdish forces have gained confidence in light of open U.S. support to their forces, particularly as the battle for Raqqa took off.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)