US denies report it is leaving up to 1,000 troops in Syria

The United States strongly denied on Sunday a report that it intended to leave almost 1,000 troops in Syria, adding plans for a residual force of around 200 troops had not changed.

The Wall Street Journal had reported on Sunday that as talks with Turkey, European allies as well as US-backed SDF have failed to produce a deal on a "safe zone" in northeastern Syria, the US now intended to keep working with YPG-dominated group in the country.

The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group that has waged a deadly armed campaign against the Turkish state for more than three decades claiming more than 40,000 lives.

Turkey, the US and the EU recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

The US has allied itself with the PKK/YPG to fight Daesh in Syria, but Turkey argues that using one terror group to fight another makes no sense.

The WSJ report quoted US officials as saying the plan could see up to 1,000 US forces spread across the country.

"A claim reported this evening by a major US newspaper that the US military is developing plans to keep nearly 1,000 US troops in Syria is factually incorrect," General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement.

"There has been no change to the plan announced in February and we continue to implement the President's direction to draw down US forces to a residual presence."

But he added the US was continuing to "conduct detailed military planning with the Turkish General Staff to address Turkish security concerns along the Turkey-Syria border."

"Planning to date has been productive and we have an initial concept that will be refined in the coming days," he said.

"We are also conducting planning with other members of the Coalition who have indicated an intent to support the transition phase of operations into Syria."

President Donald Trump had abruptly announced in December the immediate and complete withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops deployed in northeastern Syria, declaring victory against the Daesh terrorist group. The decision prompted his defence secretary Jim Mattis to quit.

Then, under pressure from Congress and the Pentagon, he agreed to leave a residual force of some 200 US troops, which he wants to be reinforced by allies in the anti-Daesh coalition.

An objective of the international force is to guarantee the security of YPG amid Europeans concerns for the PKK terror group affiliate.