THE United States needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent Islamic State from reconstituting as a major threat following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad’s government, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.

Mr Austin said forces are still needed there, particularly to ensure the security of detention camps holding tens of thousands of former IS fighters and their family members.

A many as 8,000-10,000 IS fighters are estimated to remain in the camps, at least 2,000 of whom are considered to be very dangerous.

Speaking at Ramstein air base in Germany, where he was meeting allies to discuss Ukraine military aid, Mr Austin insisted that if Syria is left unprotected, “I think Isis (IS) fighters would enter back into the mainstream.”

He said: “I think that we still have some work to do in terms of keeping a foot on the throat of Isis.”

President-elect Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria in 2018 during his first term, which prompted the resignation of former defence secretary Jim Mattis. 

As the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS), advanced against Mr Assad’s forces last month, Mr Trump posted on social media that the US military needed to stay out of the conflict.

The US has about 2,000 troops in Syria, up significantly from the 900 officially acknowledged in prior years. 

The continued presence of US troops was put into question after a lightning insurgency ousted Mr Assad on December 8, ending his family’s long rule of the country.

Meanwhile Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain, the current head of the Arab League, on Wednesday and met the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders.