US Contingent Of 500-600 Troops To Remain In Syria - Army Chief

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2019) About 500-600 US troops will stay in Syria, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said in an interview with the US ABC news broadcaster on Sunday.

"There are still ISIS [IS, terror group banned in Russia] fighters in the region. And unless pressure is maintained, unless attention is maintained on that group, then there is a very real possibility that conditions could be set for a reemergence of ISIS," Milley said, adding that "the footprint will be small, but the objective will remain the same: the enduring defeat of ISIS."

The US General added that the number of troops would not exceed 1,000 but will stay within the range of 500-600.

Trump announced on October 7 that the US had started pulling out troops from Syria's north. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on October 13 that the country would withdraw around 1,000 more servicemen from the area � where Turkey launched on October 9 an offensive against the Islamic State terrorist group and Kurdish militia � in order for the US military not to end up trapped between rival armies.