The planned US troop withdrawal from Iraq could have nasty consequences, according to France. "The ISIS is still present. We can even speak of a resurgence in Syria and Iraq," warns Defense Minister Florence Parly.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly has warned of a resurgence of the ISIS terrorist militia. "France believes that Daesh (Arabic acronym for ISIS) still exists. We can even speak of a kind of resurgence in Syria and Iraq," Parly said Sunday on the program "Questions politiques," co-hosted by radio station France Inter, newspaper Le Monde and France Télévisions.
Parly's remarks come at a time when the number of US troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan is being lowered by order of outgoing US President Donald Trump. By mid-January, US troop levels in Afghanistan will be reduced from about 4,500 troops to 2,500. The number of soldiers in Iraq is to be lowered by about 500 to 2,500 as well.
Nearly all troops from the other member states of the international anti-ISIS coalition had scaled down their activities in Iraq at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, withdrawing their soldiers to protect them from the risk of contracting the virus. "Since the fall of Baghouz in the Middle Euphrates Valley, where the last ISIS stronghold was located, we can see Daesh regaining strength in Syria," Parly said. The defense minister pointed to the heavy ISIS attack on Assad regime troops on Dec. 30. The attack in Deir ez-Zor had killed 39 Syrian soldiers.
The organization, which has also claimed numerous attacks in Europe in recent years, is also rebuilding its structures in Iraq, Parly said. "So Daesh has not yet been eradicated in the Levant. That's why we as France continue to participate in the activities of the international coalition and train our allies," Parly said.
