In a twitter post, Trump said that "the U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS [Daesh] fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go", hinting at the efforts made by the US troops in Syria on fighting Daesh and its associates.
The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them……..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 17 февраля 2019 г.
….The U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go. We do so much, and spend so much — Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 17 февраля 2019 г.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, US administration officials fear that some of the 800 detained fighters could wreak havoc unless European governments put them on trial. Moreover, senior US officials have reportedly warned that the EU is running out of time to take back the jihadists captured in Syria.
According to Scotland Yard, around 200 UK jihadists who went to Syria to fight alongside Daesh militants are thought to be alive and could decide to return, something that could pose a serious threat to European security.
Meanwhile, the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) announced in a press release on Thursday that some Daesh fighters and their associates are trying to escape the battlefield in Syria by hiding among civilians fleeing the fighting.
READ MORE: Daesh Shoot Wives as Families Flee Terrorists' Last Foothold in Syria — Reports
The United States has been operating in Syria at the helm of an international coalition since 2014, without securing approval from either Damascus or the United Nations Security Council.
In January, the US Senate rebuked Trump's plan to begin withdrawing US forces from Syria and Afghanistan, with lawmakers approving legislation sponsored by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposing a troop pull-out. Certain members of the US Congress and Trump's White House advisers have attempted to walk back the president’s announcement that some 2,000 US troops in Syria would come home within a month, stressing that Daesh is not yet defeated.
READ MORE: EU Law Enforcement Agency Warns of Increased Terror Threat as Daesh Collapses
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries.
