Nov 10 Top US general says 500-600 American troops to stay in Syria By Associated Press The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says about 500 or 600 U.S. troops will remain in Syria to counter Islamic State fighters. Continue reading
Nov 02 AP Fact Check: Trump puffs up Islamic State raid and more By Hope Yen, Calvin Woodward, Associated Press In recent days, President Trump related details from Syria that the Pentagon and diplomats contradicted, when the stock market went up he took credit, and when it went down he blamed the impeachment inquiry despite scant evidence the market cares. Continue reading
Oct 28 Pence dismisses concerns that pullout from Syria weakened the U.S. By Magan Crane Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump administration’s decision to move U.S. troops out of northern Syria, citing the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi over the weekend as evidence that the United States’ position in the… Continue reading
Oct 28 Security increased at IS prisons after leader's death By Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Forces from the Kurdish-led internal security agency were "on high alert" after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death in anticipation of possible riots or attacks. Continue reading
Oct 27 Watch 3:56 What al-Baghdadi's death means for Islamic State leadership A U.S. military raid this weekend achieved the long-standing goal of killing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State. But with the group’s continued presence around the globe, who will fill the leadership vacuum left by his death?… Continue watching
Oct 27 Timeline of the rise and fall of the Islamic State group By Associated Press Key moments in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group. Continue reading
Oct 27 Watch 4:30 How a U.S. military raid killed the Islamic State's leader By PBS NewsHour President Trump on Sunday described a harrowing U.S. military assault that led to the death this weekend of the long-sought leader of the Islamic State group. Nick Schifrin, foreign affairs and defense correspondent for NewsHour, joins Hari Sreenivasan from Washington,… Continue watching
Oct 25 Esper says U.S. troops, armored vehicles going to Syria oil fields By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press The U.S. will send armored reinforcements into eastern Syria to bolster defenses against a potential move by Islamic State militants on oil fields controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday. Continue reading
Oct 23 Defense secretary in Baghdad to discuss U.S. troops leaving Syria By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Mark Esper has said that under the current plan, all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State. Continue reading
Oct 13 Syria's Kurds look to Assad for protection after US pullout By Lefteris Pitarakis, Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Syria's Kurds said Syrian government forces agreed Sunday to help them fend off Turkey's invasion — a major shift in alliances that came after President Trump ordered all U.S. troops withdrawn from the northern border area amid the rapidly deepening… Continue reading