"Right now we are not withdrawing [US troops from Syria]," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We are continuing the fight, we are going to expand it and bring in more regional support."

According to the top US defense official, the United States will expand its anti-IS operation with the help of regional states, Sputnik reported.

Amid Trump's statements concerning the mulled pullout of US troops, Defense Secretary James Mattis has previously outlined the possibility of terrorist groups regrouping in remote positions in Syria, saying to the US president that the withdrawal would reverse the progress achieved so far.

On March 3, US President Donald Trump announced his plans to pull the country's troops out from Syria in the near-term, which was met with a conflicting reaction from the president's special envoy to the US-led coalition, Brett McGurk, as well as incoming US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, as well as a number of other officials.

Following the strong reaction from the officials, Trump decided to keep troops in Syria. However, according to a representative of his administration, "he wasn't thrilled about it, to say the least".

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