BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Wednesday the group had not received any plans from the U.S. forces in northern and eastern Syria to withdraw.
“Of course, ISIS and other malicious forces are waiting for the opportunity of the U.S. withdrawal to reactivate and reach the state of 2014,” the SDF’s spokesperson Farhad Shami told Reuters.
At the height of its powers in 2014, Islamic State imposed a reign of terror over millions of people and claimed control over swathes of the combined territories of Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. Department of Defense is developing plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing two U.S. defense officials.
The U.S. considers the Kurdish-led forces key allies against Islamic State but neighbouring Turkey regards them as a national security threat.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Writing by Clauda Tanios)