Washington: The main goal of the US military contingent in Syria is to continue to destroy the remnants of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, or ISIS, banned in Russia) in the country, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
“As it relates to US force presence in Syria, it is focused on the defeat ISIS mission and so that continues to be our focus,” Ryder told a briefing on Tuesday.
The armed conflict in Syria started in 2011 between the government of President Bashar Assad and various armed groups, including terrorists. The Islamic State terrorist group was declared defeated in late 2017, and Damascus continued raids to wipe out remaining cells, chiefly in the country’s northwest.
Syria’s armed opposition captured Damascus on December 8. Russian officials have said that Assad stepped down as president after negotiations with participants in the Syrian conflict and left Syria for Russia, where he was granted asylum.
Mohammed al-Bashir, who ran an Idlib-based administration formed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other opposition groups, was named interim prime minister. He later announced that an interim government had been formed and would remain in place until March 2025.
