US forces seen near Turkish border for patrol in Syria
BEIRUT: US forces in armoured vehicles were seen on Thursday near the Syria-turkey border in a part of northeastern Syria where they had not been observed since the United States announced a decision to withdraw from the area, a witness said.
A military source from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) described the movement as a patrol running between the towns of Rmeilan to Qahtaniyah, 20 km to the west. The source said it would “not be a one-time” event.
The head of the SDF’S media office could not immediately be reached for comment. The witness saw the vehicles outside the town of Qahtaniyah, roughly 6 km south of the border.
President Donald Trump announced this month that US forces would withdraw from northeastern Syria, where the United States had allied with the SDF to oust IS forces.
In response to a question about the reported troop movement, Colonel Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the Us-led coalition, said, “All Coalition military operations are de-conflicted with other forces operating in the region”.
“We have begun repositioning Coalition troops to the Deir al Zor region, in coordination with our SDF partners, to increase security (and) continue our mission to defeat (IS) remnants,” Caggins added.
The US military said last week it was reinforcing its position in Syria with additional assets, including mechanised forces, to prevent oil fields from being taken over by remnants of the IS militant group or others.
Trump said last week a small number of US troops would remain in the area of Syria “where they have the oil”. Syria’s oil wells are principally located in Deir al Zor province, well south of the Turkishsyrian border.