US considers keeping 1,000 soldiers in Syria

The US military is considering keeping up to 1,000 troops in Syria, further drifting away from President Donald Trump's original plan of a total withdrawal, a media reported.

The troops will be deployed from northern Syria to the south, continuing to work with Kurdish fighters, The Wall Street Journal said in the report on Sunday citing administration officials.

The officials said the number of troops to be left in Syria is still to be decided.

Meanwhile, Washington plans to withdraw hundreds of American forces when "the last bastion of Islamic State (IS) is seized", a move that will be in accord with Trump's original plan, according to the report.

On February 21, the White House announced that the US would leave about 200 troops in Syria after the planned pullout.

Trump confirmed the next day that a small fraction of US forces would remain in Syria with troops from other countries.

Citing a senior administration official, US media later reported that American military would leave about 400 troops in two different regions of Syria.

Currently, there are about 2,000 US troops in Syria.

Declaring victory over the Islamic State, Trump last December announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, leading to the resignation of then Secretary of Defence James Mattis.

--IANS

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