US sending armored vehicles into Syria to protect oil fields

The Pentagon plans to use armored vehicles to defend northeastern Syria’s oil fields from attack by Islamic State fighters, Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed today, minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the troops are coming home.

“We are reinforcing that position. It will include some mechanized forces,” Esper said at a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels when asked about the new stay-behind force Trump authorized this week.