UPDATE - US Had 'Couple Of Dozen Of Guys' In North Syria, Could Do Nothing To Stop Turks - Official

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2019) The United States had a very small number of troops in northeast Syria at the time when Turkey was preparing to launch its offensive in the region and there was nothing Washington could do to stop Ankara's operation, a senior US administration official told reporters.

"I can tell you with complete confidence that nothing that we did one way or the other was going to deter the Turks from what they wanted to do in this case," the official said on Monday, adding that "moving a couple of dozen of guys around in northeast Syria" was not going to make a difference.

Asked about why the US troops were withdrawn from northern Syria, the White House official explained that there was only a "small number of troops" in the area and that "we could not responsibly leave them there when the Turkish were obviously geared to go in.

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According to the official, the US troops were located in an area "40 kilometers [about 25 miles] long and 30 kilometers deep."

"The idea that somehow those couple dozen forces would somehow be in a position to stop an invading army is just not logical, and it would be extremely dangerous to request those forces to achieve that mission," the official stressed.

Washington's decision to withdraw forces from northern Syria left Kurdish militia in the region without support. Turkey considers US-backed Kurds in the area an extension of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), branded a terrorist organization by Ankara.