U.S. forces move to secure Syrian oil fields after death of al-Baghdadi

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that U.S. forces are being repositioned to secure oil fields in eastern Syria following the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Esper said the U.S. would continue moving to secure the forces until it is assured that Islamic State cannot gain access to them.

The defense secretary and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the mission includes denying Syrian and Russian forces access to the fields.

But Milley said the fundamental purpose is to deny Islamic State access to the oil fields.

“We don’t want them to resurge. They get a lot of their revenues from that,” he told journalists at a news conference where he and Esper revealed additional details of the raid in which al-Baghdadi died.

Esper said U.S. forces had not faced any challenges from Russian or Syrian forces to the repositioning.

Esper previously said the U.S. may leave some forces in Syria to make sure the oil fields don’t fall into the hands of a resurgent Islamic State. He reiterated Monday that President Donald Trump still intends to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria.

Later Monday, the State Department said that Washington was “determined to prevent a resurgence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq” in a statement announcing that an “extraordinary” meeting of the global coalition to defeat the terror group would be held Nov. 14.

“Ministers will meet for strategy discussions on the continued fight against ISIS in the post-liberation era and following the death of Abu Bakr alBaghdadi,” a State Department statement read.

“The D-ISIS Coalition remains vitally important to our efforts and our commitment, as a Coalition, to this effort remains unwavering,” the statement said.

Trump announced Sunday that al-Baghdadi was killed by soldiers with U.S. military special operations. He died after detonating a suicide vest while being chased in a tunnel by commandos in northwest Syria. Three children died with him.

Al-Baghdadi’s remains were identified using DNA and then disposed of according to the rules of war, Milley said, declining to confirm news reports that the remains had been buried at sea.

Milley also said the operation was “U.S.-only” and that no U.S. personnel were lost.

Esper praised the U.S. forces who carried out the raid and said it was the culmination of a multiyear, interagency effort to find and kill al-Baghdadi.