Baladi News
Hundreds of American troops — not just their equipment — are leaving the war zone in Syria after the Islamic State has been driven from its last territory there.
But in the latest twist to the on-again, off-again American withdrawal, the Pentagon plans to cut its combat force in northeastern Syria roughly in half by early May, or to about 1,000 troops, and then pause, The New York Times cited American officials as saying on Friday.
The military will then assess conditions on the ground and reduce the number of forces every six months or so, until it reaches the 400 troops in Syria that U.S. President Donald Trump approved in February, The New York Times added.
The newspaper pointed out that they will include 200 in a multinational force in the northeast and another 200 at a small outpost in southeastern Syria, where they will seek to counter Iran’s influence throughout the country.
The pause is another important shift from Trump’s initial order to pull out all 2,000 American troops from Syria immediately, and has not been previously reported.
Military officials cautioned on Friday that the withdrawal timetable remained fluid and that final force levels were subject to change given a range of factors, from allied troop contributions to new directions from Mr. Trump, wrote the newspaper.