US to send additional military assets to Syria
The US would send additional military assets to eastern Syria to enforce control of the oil fields in the region, according to American media reports.
Citing a defence official, CNN reported that the US "is committed to reinforcing our position, in coordination with our SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) partners, in northeast Syria with additional military assets to prevent those oil fields from falling back into the hands of IS (Islamic State) or other destabilizing actors", Xinhua news agency reported.
USA Today, also citing an American official, reported on Thursday that the Pentagon was preparing to send tanks and armoured vehicles to Syrian oil fields.
The deployment of heavy armour to Syria would represent a significant escalation in the fight, requiring a contingent of additional troops to operate and maintain the vehicles, as well as forces to protect their bases, the piece said.
"We will never let a reconstituted ISIS have those fields," US President Donald Trump tweeted early Thursday.
Despite Trump's consistent call for bringing back US troops from Syria, Trump announced in his Wednesday remarks that Washington would still keep a limited military presence in parts of Syria to protect the oil fields.
The Washington Post wrote on Monday that roughly 200 troops would remain in the oil-producing area of Syria, with a task to keep oil fields out of the hands of the IS and prevent them from being claimed by the Syrian government.
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