About 1 thousand American troops from northeastern Syria are being transferred to western Iraq to fight IS.
This was announced on Saturday by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to reporters accompanying him on a trip to the Middle East.
“The withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria continues. We are talking about weeks, not days,” Reuters quoted Esper as saying. “The current plan is to relocate these forces to western Iraq.” According to him, we are talking about approximately 1 thousand military personnel.
As a high-ranking Pentagon representative told reporters, the situation is mobile and plans can change. At the same time, the question remains whether the US will use Iraqi territory for operations and attacks on IS terrorists in Syria.
October 9, Turkey announced the operation in the north of Syria, the operation “Source of Peace”, which began with air strikes by the air forces on the positions of Kurdish forces. The purpose of the operation is to create a buffer zone there, which should become a protective belt for the Turkish border. According to Ankara’s plan, Syrian refugees will be able to return from Turkey. SANA called the operation aggression, the international community condemned the actions of Ankara.
On October 13, Esper announced that the United States began withdrawing about 1,000 American troops from northern Syria due to the Turkish offensive. On October 17, the United States and Turkey reached an agreement to suspend hostilities. Turkey agreed to ceasefire for 120 hours so that Kurdish units in the Syrian Forces coalition leave the border security zone created by Ankara.