But Trump said that he considered the mission in Syria over given Islamic State territorial losses. A British defence minister said he strongly disagreed with Trump that Islamic State had been defeated in Syria. The United States has not ruled out that Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could still be alive. A U.S. withdrawal could open Trump up to criticism if Islamic State reemerged. Trump had lambasted Obama for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq that preceded an unravelling of the Iraqi armed forces.

Source: The Star December 19, 2018 14:02 UTC