U.S. defense chief: Troops leaving Syria to fight IS in Iraq
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.
Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq.
The developments made clear that one of Donald Trump's rationales for withdrawing troops from Syria was not going to come to pass any time soon.
