The United States plans to sustain its mission against the Islamic State in Syria, despite the recent capture of the nation’s capital by insurgents opposing Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist regime, according to Daniel Shapiro, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East.
"We are aware that the chaotic and dynamic circumstances on the ground in Syria could give ISIS space to find the ability to become active, to plan external operations, and we're determined to work with those partners to continue to degrade their capabilities," Shapiro told attendees during Sunday’s Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain, shortly after Damascus fell to the opposition fighters.
Since 2014, the U.S. has maintained a military presence in the northeastern territory of the civil war-affected country, supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their fight against ISIS. Currently, the Pentagon has about 900 personnel and contractors deployed across at least four locations in the region.
The areas controlled by the U.S. and its allies largely remained unaffected by the recent rebel uprising against al-Assad.
It remains uncertain whether the U.S. will maintain its deployment in Syria once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office next month, as the former chief executive indicated on Saturday that Washington should disengage from the ongoing conflict.
On Sunday, U.S. Central Command confirmed that airstrikes were carried out on more than 75 ISIS positions in central Syria.
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