BRUSSELS: Pentagon chief Mark Esper said Friday that the United States will leave more American troops and armored vehicles in eastern Syria to help prevent Daesh militants from gaining access to oil fields controlled by US-allied Syrian Kurds. That deployment will likely include tanks, a US official said.
The defense secretary confirmed that the US will send in an armored force to the region, but he did not provide details or the number of troops.
His comments at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels reflected one more change in what has been a rapidly shifting US stance on American forces in Syria.
Just last week, President Donald Trump insisted that all 1,000 American forces in Syria would leave the war-torn country. Then he acknowledged that a couple hundred would stay at the Al-Tanf garrison in the south.
In tweets Friday, Trump said “Oil is secured. Our soldiers have left and are leaving Syria for other places, then.... COMING HOME! ... When these pundit fools who have called the Middle East wrong for 20 years ask what we are getting out of the deal, I simply say, THE OIL, AND WE ARE BRINGING OUR SOLDIERS BACK HOME, Daesh SECURED!“
Esper, when asked about America’s shifting Syria strategy, said the US mission has always been to prevent the resurgence of Daesh. “That mission remains unchanged,” he said.
But Esper said at NATO that the US is “considering how we might reposition forces in the area in order to ensure we secure the oil field.” He added: “We are reinforcing that position. It will include some mechanized forces.”
The US official who send the deployment probably would include tanks offered no more details. This official was not authorized to discuss internal discussions about military planning and spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said the US wants to ensure that Daesh militants do not get access to the oil, which could give the insurgent group to obtain resources to rebuild.
Trump in the past days has turned a greater focus on the Syrian oil facilities in the eastern part of the country, saying US will stay in Syria to protect them.
According to officials, top military leaders have pushed for the US to leave forces in Syria to guard against a Daesh resurgence. While the group’s physical zone of control was largely destroyed by US and Syrian Kurdish forces, insurgents remain in small pockets throughout the country and in Iraq.
Russian and Turkish leaders have now divided up security roles in northeast Syria following America’s abrupt troop withdrawal from the Turkey-Syrian border region. The American move triggered widespread criticism that the Trump administration had abandoned the Syrian Kurdish fighters who fought alongside the US against Daesh for several years.
Trump spurred a fresh wave of condemnation when he tweeted Thursday that he had spoken with Syrian Kurdish military chief Mazloum Abdi and said that perhaps “it is time for Kurds to start heading to the Oil Region.” That was an apparent reference to the oil fields in Deir Ezzor. US military commanders see that region as critical to holding off a Daesh resurgence there.
“We’ve secured the oil, and, therefore, a small number of US troops will remain in the area where they have the oil,” Trump said. “And we’re going to be protecting it, and we’ll be deciding what we’re going to do with it in the future.”
White House officials did not respond to requests for greater clarity about Trump’s tweet suggesting Kurds head to the oil region.
The Pentagon released a statement Thursday saying it was committed to sending additional military forces to eastern Syria to “reinforce” control of the oil fields and prevent them from “falling back to into the hands of Daesh or other destabilizing actors.”
Defense chief Esper: US troops, armored vehicles going to Syria oil fields
Defense chief Esper: US troops, armored vehicles going to Syria oil fields
- The defense secretary confirmed that the US will send in an armored force to the region, but he did not provide details or the number of troops
- When asked about America’s shifting Syria strategy, he said the US mission has always been to prevent the resurgence of Daesh
Israel fires mortar into Gaza residential area, wounding at least 10
- The attack is the latest Israeli attack since the Oct. 10 ceasefire took effect
- Palestinian health officials have reported over 370 deaths from Israeli fire since the truce
JERUSALEM: Israeli troops fired a mortar shell over the ceasefire line into a Palestinian residential area in the Gaza Strip, in the latest incident to rock the tenuous ceasefire with Hamas. Health officials said at least 10 people were wounded, and the army said it was investigating.
The military said the mortar was fired during an operation in the area of the “Yellow Line,” which was drawn in the ceasefire agreement and divides the Israeli-held majority of Gaza from the rest of the territory.
The military did not say what troops were doing or whether they had crossed the line. It said the mortar had veered from its intended target, which it did not specify.
Fadel Naeem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, said the hospital received 10 people wounded in the strike on central Gaza City, some critically.
It was not the first time since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10 that Israeli fire has caused Palestinian casualties outside the Yellow Line. Palestinian health officials have reported over 370 deaths from Israeli fire since the truce.
Israel has said it has opened fire in response to Hamas violations, and says most of those killed have been Hamas militants. But an Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military protocol, said the army is aware of a number of incidents where civilians were killed, including young children and a family traveling in a van.
Palestinians say civilians have been killed in some cases because the line is poorly marked. Israeli troops have been laying down yellow blocks to delineate it, but in some areas the blocks have not yet been placed.
Ceasefire’s next phase
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is struggling to reach its next phase, with both sides accusing each other of violations. The first phase involved the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The second is supposed to involve the deployment of an international stabilization force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.
The remains of one hostage, Ran Gvili, are still in Gaza, and the militants appear to be struggling to find it. Israel is demanding the return of Gvili’s remains before moving to the second phase.
Hamas is calling for more international pressure on Israel to open key border crossings, cease deadly strikes and allow more aid into the strip. Recently released Israeli military figures suggest it hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, though Israel disputes that finding.
Humanitarian groups say the lack of aid has had harsh effects on most of Gaza’s residents. Food remains scarce as the territory struggles to bounce back from famine, which affected parts of Gaza during the war.
The toll of war
The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people have been displaced. Most live in vast tent camps or among the shells of damaged buildings.
The initial Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,660 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
