"President Bashar al-Assad has largely defeated the opposition and is now seeking to regain control over all of the Syrian territory", Coats said during a Senate committee hearing. "The regime will focus on retaking territory while seeking to avoid conflict with Israel and Turkey".
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The statement comes soon after acting Defence Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan claimed that the territory in Syria formerly controlled by the Daesh* terrorist group would be recaptured by the US-backed forces within a couple of weeks.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia