Votel: Tens of thousands of ISIS fighters in Syria, Iraq
The
top US commander in the war against ISIS aligned himself Sunday with the US
intelligence community assessment that there are "tens of thousands"
of ISIS fighters spread across Syria and Iraq, the CNN reported on
Monday.
"They are dispersed and disaggregated, but there is
leadership, there are fighters there, there are facilitators there," Gen.
Joseph Votel told reporters traveling with him to the Middle East for his
farewell tour.
Votel's comments underscore the testimony from Director of
National Intelligence Dan Coats before Congress, an assessment President Donald
Trump has publicly disagreed with.
The statements, however, come as US backed fighters are in heavy
combat in the last area of Syria where ISIS still controls territory.
"I'm very proud of the coalition force team that we have on
the ground who's assisting our Syrian Democratic force partners in what will be
difficult fighting," Votel said. "Urban terrain, high density of
explosive hazards in the area, and the presence of displaced persons and others
who are attempting to depart the area."
He added that in the
last 24 hours, operations were resumed in the Middle Euphrates Valley and are
currently underway.
American officials
believe the dispersed fighters may be in a wide swath of Syrian desert.
For now, Votel was
definitive that all US troops will leave Syria, but he wouldn't put a public
timeline on when it will be completed.
"The President's
orders are very clear to us. We understand exactly what he has directed,"
Votel said.
However, he also notes
the US military will also continue looking for ways to keep the pressure on
ISIS and support the SDF without ground troops inside Syria. He declined to
offer specifics how that might be accomplished.
These comments came as
Votel began a two-week farewell tour before stepping down as head of
US Central Command. His trip, which comes just as the U.S. begins plans to pull
troops out of Syria, will include meetings with foreign leaders to thank them
for their support.
Votel is retiring
after 39 years with the US Army.