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Washington: US President Donald Trump said the Islamic State extremist group has been “largely defeated,” pulling back from an earlier declaration of a total defeat, adding that it would be up to countries in the region, including Turkey, to tackle the remnant.
Earlier this week, Trump announced he was withdrawing troops from Syria, claiming Islamic State was totally defeated. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis resigned shortly after the announcement, in what was seen as a sharp rebuke of the move and the president.
Reports in US media, including CBS and the Washington Post, said Brett McGurk, the presidential envoy to the war against Islamic State, had also resigned this week because of differences with the White House. He had been due to step down in early 2019 in any case. “Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!” Trump said on Twitter. The fate of the US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria remains unclear, with Turkey having talked up an offensive against those units. (dpa)
Earlier this week, Trump announced he was withdrawing troops from Syria, claiming Islamic State was totally defeated. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis resigned shortly after the announcement, in what was seen as a sharp rebuke of the move and the president.
Reports in US media, including CBS and the Washington Post, said Brett McGurk, the presidential envoy to the war against Islamic State, had also resigned this week because of differences with the White House. He had been due to step down in early 2019 in any case. “Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!” Trump said on Twitter. The fate of the US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria remains unclear, with Turkey having talked up an offensive against those units. (dpa)
