Report: US Plans to Leave 1,000 Troops in Syria; Pentagon Denies

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is refuting a Wall Street Journal report that the US military was developing plans to keep up to 1,000 troops in Syria, calling it "factually incorrect"

Report: US Plans to Leave 1,000 Troops in Syria; Pentagon Denies

US troops in Syria (Photo: AP)

The United States has denied a report saying it is planning to leave almost 1,000 troops in Syria.

The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that as talks with Turkey, European allies, and US-backed Kurdish forces and have failed to secure an agreement on a safe zone in northeastern Syria, the US now plans to keep working with Kurdish fighters in the country.

Citing US officials, the report said the plan could see up to 1,000 US forces spread across the country.

“A claim reported this evening by a major US newspaper that the US military is developing plans to keep nearly 1,000 US troops in Syria is factually incorrect,” Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement.

“There has been no change to the plan announced in February and we continue to implement the President’s direction to draw down US forces to a residual presence.”

Gen. Dunford added the US was continuing to “conduct detailed military planning with the Turkish General Staff to address Turkish security concerns along the Turkey-Syria border.”

“Planning to date has been productive and we have an initial concept that will be refined in the coming days,” he said.

“We are also conducting planning with other members of the Coalition who have indicated an intent to support the transition phase of operations into Syria.”

 

[Sources: The Defense Post, CNN]