In a move which surprised its domestic and international allies, US President Donald Trump said that American troops will be pulled out from Syria after asserting that the ISIS has been defeated. “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he tweeted from his @realDonaldTrump handle.
Trump also put out a video on Twitter handle saying “After historic victories against ISIS, it’s time to bring our great young people home!”
After historic victories against ISIS, it’s time to bring our great young people home! pic.twitter.com/xoNjFzQFTp
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Though the US troops have helped the north-east get rid of the jihadist group but pockets of fighters remain.
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Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is one of Mr Trump’s supporters, called the withdrawal decision a ‘huge Obama-like mistake’.
“An American withdrawal at this time would be a big win for ISIS [IS], Iran, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and Russia,” he said in a statement.
There are approximately 2,000 US troops in the Kurdish region in northern Syria. A partnership with an alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, is credited with playing a major role in the virtual elimination of IS after it overran large swathes of Syria four years ago.
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A recent US report said there were still as many as 14,000 IS militants in Syria and even more in neighbouring Iraq – and there is a fear they will shift to guerrilla tactics in an attempt to rebuild their network, the BBC reported.
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