U.S. envoy makes first visit to Kurdish-held Syrian north

By Tom Perry and Arshad Mohammed BEIRUT/ROME (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official has visited Kurdish-controlled northern Syria in what appeared to be the first declared trip to Syrian territory for several years by an official from U.S. President Barack Obama's administration. Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, said his weekend trip aimed to review the fight against Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls swathes of Syria and Iraq.