According to The Wall Street Journal, Washington plans to continue supporting Kurdish forces in Syria despite the threats from Ankara to launch a military operation against the Kurds in northern Syria. Sources told the media outlet that these plans require to keep nearly half of the current US military contingent in the country.

Washington's support for the opposition Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and groups affiliated with them, has been one of the stumbling blocks in US-Turkish relations.

The SDF and its political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council reportedly control huge swathes of the Syrian territory to the east of Euphrates. The Kurds proclaimed the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS) in the region, which is recognized by neither Damascus nor the world community.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal notes that the number of US military contingent in Syria could change if Trump decides that it is too risky to keep such a big number of troops in the conflict-torn country.

US President Donald Trump announced last December that he had decided to pull out troops from Syria promising to bring about 2,000 US servicemen back home. The reason for the move, he explained, was the defeat of the IS terrorist group in Syria. However, no exact deadline for the return of troops has been revealed by US officials yet.

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