French forces operating in Dier Ez Zor in Syria?

A French  Nextar Aravis armored vehicle in Dier Ez Zor province. France24.

A French Nextar Aravis armored vehicle has been spotted on the front lies in Syria suggesting a deeper French involvement in the fight against ISIS. France24. The images were released by the US Military on social media and were quickly pulled but not before sharp eyed people noticed the French vehicle. Only France, Saudi Arabia, Albania and Gabon use the Aravis, and the last two countries would have little reason to join the war against ISIS. The picture shows that France is much more deeply involved in the fight against ISIS than previously thought. No ground troops were thought to be deployed in Syria. 

My Comment:

Interesting story out of France. Before I say anything else I am not 100% sure that the Aravis is a French one. Saudi Arabia also operates the vehicles and they certainly could be involved in the Syrian Civil War. That would almost be a bigger story than France's involvement. 

But I doubt it is the Saudis. For one thing they know that having troops there could provoke a war not only with Syria but could greatly damage the countries relations with Russia. Plus they don't have a good way to get their troops in the country. Plus they are totally bogged down in Yemen right now and they don't really have the forces to spread around. I really doubt it is the Saudis, but I would be remiss to not mention the possibility. 

If it is the French though, it's pretty obvious that they are their fighting ISIS. Given the stellar reputation of the French military that is a good thing in terms of the fight against the terror group. There is new offensive against one of the last regions under ISIS control and if the French are participating they could be a big help. 

Domestically though, this is probably an embarrassment to the French government. I doubt that the French people want much to do with the Syria quagmire and until now they didn't know they were involved. Now they know. I am guessing the French people are asking their government some questions right now that they would rather not answer. 

This was a pretty big mistake by the US special forces community. Posting sensitive information like this is a major mistake. Doing so embarrassed our allies and may even have put these French troops at risk. It also risks a diplomatic incident between France and Syria (and their Russian and Iranian backers. I am guessing someone is going to be disciplined over it. 

It makes me wonder why the special forces even bothered with social media accounts. Sending info out this way seems to increase the chances of something like this happening. It just goes to show that Twitter ruins everything...