Isis emboldened by Trump withdrawing US troops from Syria, say western officials

Trump’s statement 'encourages Daesh to stay in the fight and demoralises our allies’, says senior American security official

A member of the Kurdish internal security forces holds his weapon during a patrol in Manbij, north Syria (AP)

Isis, defending its last strongholds in Syria, has been emboldened to carry out counter-attacks like the one which injured two British SAS soldiers this weekend, by Donald Trump declaring that he is pulling out US forces out of the country, western officials say.

The president’s announcement of the Syrian withdrawal, after claiming victory over Isis, and the parallel drawdown in Afghanistan, were the key reasons behind the resignations of defence secretary James Mattis and Pentagon chief of staff Kevin Sweeney, as well as Brett McGurk, Washington’s envoy to the international coalition fighting Isis.

Mr Trump’s decision has led to grave concerns among US allies, including Britain, which have forces in Syria. His national security advisor, John Bolton, on a visit to Israel – a country which fears US forces leaving would spread Iranian hegemony in Syria – maintained that the withdrawal would not take place until Isis is defeated and that it would not put America’s partners at risk.

But Isis is taking advantage of the uncertainty and confusion to motivate its fighters and launch assaults, according to a number of western military sources.

A senior British official drew a comparison with the early announcement of a pullout of the international forces in Afghanistan which was criticised for giving the Taliban the incentive to hang on and keep fighting.

“The attack which injured the two soldiers show that the fight against Daesh [Isis] is by no means over. What happened shows Daesh still have access to potent weaponry,” stressed the British official.

“There is now a real question over whether Daesh are ramping up their operations ahead of the US troop withdrawal to ‘prove’ that they drove American forces out. It could be similar to what the Taliban tried to do in Helmand in Afghanistan.”

In the view of a senior American security official: “We have got Daesh demoralised, pushed right back, but the mission isn’t over and the message must be that we keep hammering them to the end.

“Instead we get a thing [Trump’s statement] like this, saying we are pulling out. It encourages Daesh to stay in the fight and demoralises our allies.”

We have to continue the campaign to destroy Daesh to end its territorial control. They are a threat to Britain and it is far safer to strike at the threat in places such as Iraq and Syria 

Gavin Williamson, British Defence Secretary 

Countries in the anti-Isis coalition, caught by surprise at Mr Trump’s withdrawal announcement, are examining what steps to take. The British defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, has stated that the UK commitment will continue.

“We cannot be complacent about the threat of Daesh. We recognise that we have got to continue to keep a foot on the throat of Daesh.

“We have to continue the campaign to destroy Daesh to end its territorial control. They are a threat to Britain and it is far safer to strike at the threat in places such as Iraq and Syria,” he said recently.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has also indicated that French forces will remain engaged.

Speaking of Mr Trump’s move, he said: “I very deeply regret the decision made on Syria. To be allies is to fight shoulder to shoulder, it’s the most important thing for a head of state and head of military. An ally should be dependable.”

British and European officials have pointed out that, as well as an overall threat posed by the Islamists, there are still foreign fighters in its ranks who can return to carry out terrorist attacks in the west.

Among Isis prisoners captured in the latest skirmishes, security sources say, were a group of foreign jihadists including Alexander Rosatovic from Ireland, Warren Christopher Clark and Zaid Abed al-Hamid from the US, and Fadhel Rahman Jad and Abdul Azim Rachout, from Pakistan.

Contingents of foreign special forces are deployed alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in eastern Syria where Isis is hemmed into two towns east of the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor province.

Two injured SAS soldiers – now receiving medical treatment in a neighbouring country – were on patrol with Kurds when they were said to have been hit by a missile strike during a clash.

Although the SDF have been a potent partner for the west against Isis, it is seen by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government as attempting to create a Kurdish state at its borders. Turkish forces have been massing for a projected move against the SDF along with another Kurdish group, the YPG.

A Turkish attack against the Kurds risks western special forces being drawn in. Mr Bolton has said: “We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated with, and agreed, to by the United States so they don’t endanger our troops and also the Syrian opposition forces that have fought with us are not endangered.”

The Kurdish groups have begun talks with the Assad regime as well as Vladimir Putin’s government to handover border areas to Syrian forces in return for a guarantee of internal autonomy for the Kurdish region, Rojava. The Kurds point out they had been left with no alternative following Mr Trump’s withdrawal decision.

No timetable for the pullout has been drawn up, but Mr Trump’s initial demand that it should be within 30 days is not deemed to be feasible for logistical reasons, not least because of the effect of the winter conditions on large-scale road moves. Military planners are said to have asked for a minimum of 120 days to execute a pullout, but the US president insisted that he has not agreed to extending the timeframe.

Meanwhile, US officials pointed to a lack of clarity about the future faced by US forces in Syria and Afghanistan.

General Robert Neller, the marine commandant, was asked during a Christmas visit to US forces in Afghanistan about Mr Trump’s plans. He responded: “That’s a really good question, and the honest answer is I have no idea.” In another meeting with marines he added: “I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what’s going to happen. I’ve read the stuff in the newspaper you did, I have a little more knowledge than that, but not a whole lot more.”