Link , Link , Link , see>>(Votel said there are now between 1,000 and 1,500 ISIS fighters in the small area they still control in the southern part of the Euphrates River Valley near the Iraqi border. The remainder, he said, have "dispersed" and "gone to ground," suggesting they retain the potential to return.Trump's decision to leave Syria, which he initially said would be rapid but later slowed down, shocked U.S. allies led to the resignations of Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and the top envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk. Votel was asked at Tuesday's hearing whether he was asked for his advice about a Syria withdrawal before Trump announced his decision. "I was not consulted," the general said.The withdrawal will fulfil Trump's goal of bringing troops home from Syria, but military leaders have pushed back for months, arguing that ISIS remains a threat and could regroup. U.S. policy has been to keep troops in place until the extremists are eradicated.)