U.S. Military Commander Warns That Islamic State May Quickly Regroup

The Islamic State could stage a resurgence in Syria once the Pentagon withdraws its troops, the head of the United States Central Command told a Senate panel on Tuesday in a bleak warning that President Trump’s assertions of victory may be fleeting.

The commander, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, who oversees military operations in the Middle East, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Islamic State still controlled around 20 square miles of territory in Syria. That is a steep drop from the group’s pinnacle of 34,000 square miles in 2014 and has been used by the president to bolster his case that American troops and their allies have largely defeated the militant Sunni extremist group.

Mr. Trump has indicated that he is ready to declare victory in Syria, a war that was featured in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

General Votel’s comments came during a testy hearing in which a succession of senators from both parties questioned Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. It was yet another instance of top national security leaders diverging from the president on the pullout, a decision that led to the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in December.