Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press that the U.S. needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent the Islamic State group from reconstituting as a major threat.

Since the fall of President Bashar Assad regime, tensions across the Middle East have continued to remain high.

U.S forces are still needed in Syria to prevent ISIS from reconstituting as a major threat following Assad's ouster, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday in Syria's northern Manbij region, a war monitor said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported "fierce battles in the Manbij

The Turkish armed forces have been placed on full combat readiness due to the potential for operations against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was provided to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources within the Turkish Ministry of Defense.