The first Syrian family to be resettled in the United States under a speeded-up "surge operation" for refugees left Jordan on Wednesday and arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, to start a new life.

Ahmad al-Abboud, who is being resettled with his wife and five children, said he is thankful to Jordan, where he has lived for three years after fleeing Syria's civil war. But the 45-year-old from Homs, Syria, said he was ready to build a better life in the US.

They have been living in Mafraq, north of Amman. Abboud was unable to find work, and the family was surviving on food coupons.