US-backed forces seek international support in Syria amid withdrawal talks

The commander of U.S.-backed forces in Syria called on Monday for about 1,000 to 1,500 international forces to remain in Syria to help fight Islamic State and expressed hope that the United States, in particular, would halt plans for a total pullout.

"We would like to have air cover, air support and a force on the ground to coordinate with us," Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told a small group of reporters in Syria after talks with senior U.S. generals.