‘U.S. Evacuating Wives of Daesh Terrorists From Syria’

Date: 20 October 2019 - 21:31

News ID: ۷۱۸۶۱

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – U.S. troops are evacuating wives of Daesh terrorists from the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria amid the Turkish offensive in the Arab country, Ikhbariya broadcaster has reported.
U.S. helicopters are circling the camp in the course of the evacuation operation, the broadcaster stated.
On Monday, U.S. media reported that the U.S. forces failed to evacuate around 50 "high-value" Daesh detainees from Kurdish jails in northeastern Syria amid the ongoing Turkish military operation in the area.
On October 7, President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said last week that the United States would pull out an additional 1,000 servicemen from the area near where Turkey launched its military offensive.
Esper also said all of the American troops pulling out of northeastern Syria would move to western Iraq.
"The U.S. withdrawal continues apace from northeastern Syria... we’re talking weeks not days,” Esper told reporters en route to the Middle East late on Saturday, noting that the process is being conducted via aircraft and ground convoys.
He also put the number of U.S. forces moving to Iraq at about 1,000, saying, "The current game plan is for those forces to re-position into western Iraq."
In a major U-turn in the U.S. military policy, the White House announced on October 6 that the U.S. would be withdrawing its forces from northeastern Syria, clearing the path for an expected Turkish incursion into the region.
Three days later, Turkey launched the offensive with the aim of purging the northern Syrian regions near its border of U.S.-backed Kurdish militants, whom it views as terrorists linked to local autonomy-seeking militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Esper claimed that the U.S. troops going into Iraq will have two missions, including helping "defend Iraq" and performing an alleged campaign against the Daesh terrorist group.
"Things could change between now and whenever we complete the withdrawal, but that’s the game plan right now," he said.
The Pentagon chief further stressed that he had spoken with his Iraqi counterpart about the US plan.
The additional troops are expected to add to the more than 5,000 American troops already based in Iraq.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Esper said he will discuss with other NATO allies at a meeting next week the way ahead for what he called the counter-Daesh mission.