Washington is mulling the creation of a 1,000-strong Kuwait-based military force allegedly aimed at engaging Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
Citing unnamed officials, Reuters said in Wednesday report that the administration of US President Donald Trump was considering bolstering the country's Kuwait-based troops by around 1,000 to act as reserve in the battle against terrorism.
The officials noted that the decision on whether to send the troops to Kuwait is part of an ongoing evaluation of Washington’s strategy to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria, where some 6,000 US troops are currently deployed.
The officials refrained from mentioning if the rapidly deployable force has the support of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Meanwhile, a US defense official announced that a detachment of Marines had arrived in Syria close to Daesh’s de-facto capital of Raqqah.
Since 2014, the United States, along with a number of its allies, has been leading a so-called anti-terror campaign in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
The latest development comes as US-backed militant groups continue to gain territory in northern Syria.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced that it had sent additional US soldiers to northern Syria to deter infighting between rival forces in the region.
The US-backed SDF, which includes Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters, is currently in control of Manbij and Syria’s entire northern border with Turkey.
Ankara launched an offensive in August in Syria with the declared aim of supporting Free Syrian Army militants and rid the border area of Daesh terrorists and fighters from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG.
In February, Turkey announced that after its forces complete their operations in Syria’s al-Bab, they will move towards the nearby Kurdish-held city of Manbij.
Ankara accuses the PYD and YPG of having links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group that has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s, Presstv reported.
Your Comment