WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says about 500 or 600 U.S. troops will remain in Syria to counter Islamic State fighters.

President Donald Trump recently approved an expanded military mission to secure oil fields across eastern Syria. His decision locked hundreds of U.S. troops into a more complicated presence in Syria despite his pledge to bring them home.

Gen. Mark Milley tells ABC’s “This Week” that pressure must be maintained on ISIS fighters still in the region.

It’s unclear whether Milley’s prediction of keeping 500 to 600 American troops there includes the roughly 200 who are at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria.

Iraq: American troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq
Iraq: American troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq

U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to stay in the country, Iraq’s military said Tuesday as American forces continued to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion of the border region.

By: Qassim Abdul-Zahra, The Associated Press, Zeina Karam, The Associated Press