US Syria pointman to also serve as anti-IS envoy 0 SHARES Share it! Share TweetBy Agence France-PresseAmerica’s Syria pointman James Jeffrey will also serve as the United States envoy to the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group, the State Department said on Friday. Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, will replace Brett McGurk as anti-IS envoy, a post from which he resigned following US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision in December to withdraw American forces from Syria. The US-allied Kurds have played a major role in the war against IS, the jihadist group that seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria but has since suffered major defeats. The December 21 announcement of McGurk’s departure followed that of Jim Mattis, who quit as defense chief over fundamental disagreements with Trump, including over Syria.

Source: Manila Bulletin January 05, 2019 01:38 UTC