AP, ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFTAll US troops leaving Syria would go to western Iraq and the US military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State (IS) group to prevent its resurgence, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has said. Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that US forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq. As Esper left Washington on Saturday, US troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion into the border region. Esper said the troops going into Iraq are to have two missions.

Source: Taipei Times October 20, 2019 15:56 UTC