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2019-11-14 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
500 - 600 US troops to remain in Syria
[J-Post] America will leave a military presence on the ground to keep pressure on ISIS

Between 500 and 600 US troops will remain in Syria to keep pressure on ISIS, the chairman of America's Joint Chiefs of Staff has said.

President Donald Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of all 1,000 American troops from the country last month, with the expectation that they would move into Iraq to continue the fight against Islamic State. However, he has since approved a mission to secure oil fields across eastern Syria, requiring a number of troops to stay in place.

“There will be less than a thousand, for sure,” Gen. Mark Milley said. "Probably in the 500ish frame, maybe six. It's in that area."

"There are still ISIS fighters in the region," he added, explaining: "Unless pressure is maintained – unless attention is maintained on that group – there's a very real possibility there could be a reemergence of ISIS. We committed to [prevent] that. The footprint will be small, but the objective will remain the same."

Following the successful targeting by US Special Forces of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month, Washington will be looking for an opportunity to remove his successor, Milley confirmed.

"They've apparently replaced him with another leader," he said. "We have a considerable amount of information on that individual. We'll see in the days ahead, weeks ahead, months ahead if he's able to piece together his organization. We'll pay attention to him and, where opportunities arise, we'll go after him as well."

But he added that, "it's not just Islamic State – it's other groups. I think we will be [there] for a significant amount of time. It's our national interests to be there to help out."
Posted by 3dc 2019-11-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views ]  Top
 File under: Islamic State 










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