BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish leaders voiced support on Wednesday for a longer-term role for U.S. forces in Syria once Islamic State is defeated, after the United States signalled it would not pull out before there was progress towards a political solution.
Comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday have drawn heavy criticism from the Iran-backed Syrian government, which says Washington is making up a new excuse for keeping its “illegal occupation” forces in Syria. Limiting Iranian influence in Syria and Iraq is a key U.S. aim.
Syrian Kurdish groups have emerged as the main partner on the ground for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria, areas which the Syrian state and Iran have vowed to take back.
Kurdish fighters, with Arab allies, U.S. advisers and coalition jets, have driven Islamic State from swathes of territory including their former headquarters in Raqqa city.