US Mission To Defeat Islamic State In Syria Remains 'Viable, Credible' - White House

The US mission to defeat the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) remains "viable and credible" and Washington wants to see it move forward in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2022) The US mission to defeat the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) remains "viable and credible" and Washington wants to see it move forward in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said on Friday.

"(W)e're focused on the counter-ISIS (Islamic State) fight in Syria. That's why we have that small number of troops there. That's why we've partnered with the SDF. That's the mission that we still think is viable and credible, and we want to continue to see it move forward," Kirby said during a press briefing.

However, Kirby also said that the United States is concerned that Turkey's operations in northern Syria will have a negative operational impact on the SDF as it will be less willing to contribute to counter the Islamic State.

Washington expects that the existing US-SDF partnership in Syria will continue, Kirby added.

On Tuesday, the United Nations called on Turkey and the SDF to immediately de-escalate the situation in Syria.

On November 20, Turkey conducted air attacks on bases of the People's Defense Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - outlawed by Ankara as terrorist organizations - in northern Syria and Iraq. The strikes came after a recent deadly terrorist attack in Turkey. The Turkish president called the operation a success and raised the possibility of conducting an additional ground operation soon.