WASHINGTON’S Middle East commander sneaked into Syria on Saturday to oversee plans for a drive against the Islamic State (Isis) stronghold of Raqqa.

US Army General Joseph Votel, who took over as commander of the Pentagon’s central command just seven weeks ago, paid a flying visit to US special forces “advisers” working with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

He was accompanied by a select group of reporters sworn to secrecy until the junket was over.

“The American people should have the right to see what we’re doing here,” Gen Votel said.

Coinciding with his visit the SDF reportedly captured the village of Hishah, about 30 miles north of Raqqa, from Isis after moving large numbers of guerillas into the area over the preceding days.

The bulk of the SDF is made up of Kurdish YPG militia — the armed wing of the separatist Democratic Union Party (PYD) — with various small non-Kurdish militias in northern Syria tagged on.

The US apparently hopes the Kurds, who have unilaterally declared an autonomous region dubbed Rojava in the north of Syria, will seize Raqqa and hold it against the Syrian army.

But the alliance was jeopardised last month when the smaller militias took the government side when the YPG clashed with Syrian army reservists in Qamishli, on the Turkish border.

SDF deputy commander Qarhaman Hasan told reporters he was demanding armoured vehicles, heavy machine guns, rockets and mortars from the Pentagon.

Washington’s support for the YPG has also complicated relations with Nato ally Turkey, which is fighting a brutal counterinsurgency against the PYD’s sister organisation the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Though the SDF is the brainchild of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, the CIA has been running guns to insurgents allied to al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate the Nusra Front.

On Friday the Pentagon turned down Moscow’s proposal of joint operations against Nusra.

Spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said: “Russian operations are supporting and enabling the Assad regime and our focus is solely on degrading and defeating Isil [Isis].”

On Saturday the Syrian army repelled a large assault by Nusra and its Western-backed ally Ahrar as-Sham in the western village of Zara, where the militants massacred and abducted scores of civilians two weeks ago.