WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said Wednesday it had started the process of returning U.S. troops from Syria as the United States began to transition into the next phase of the campaign.

“The Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State.

“We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign,” she said.

“For force protection and operational security reasons we will not provide further details. We will continue working with our partners and allies to defeat ISIS wherever it operates.” </s> The White House said Wednesday the United States has begun withdrawing troops from Syria, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted the U.S. has defeated the Islamic State terror group there.

"We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign," White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

She added the defeat of IS does not mean the military campaign by coalition forces is ending in Syria.

"The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support, and any means of infiltrating our borders," Sanders said.

Later on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said in a statement that "the coalition has liberated ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over." ISIS an acronym for the Islamic State terror group.

"We will continue working with our partners and allies to defeat ISIS wherever it operates," she said, giving no details as to a timeline, noting "force protection and operational security reasons."

Just last week, U.S. special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, told reporters at the State Department that liberating the last one percent of IS-held territory could take "a period of months."

"There is a significant concentration of the most hardened ISIS fighters in that little splotch of territory," McGurk said on December 11. "A couple of thousand hardened fighters remain in that area."

Pentagon estimates from August of this year warned IS still had at least 13,000 fighters in Syria, where the caliphate had already collapsed.

A withdrawal of the troops would mark a sudden reversal in U.S. military strategy in the region. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other senior U.S. officials have been advocating for a longer-term military presence in Syria to help ensureIS cannot reemerge as a force in the Middle East.The U.S. has about 2,000 troops in Syria, many of whom work closely with an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Despite the Pentagon's preference for an ongoing military presence in the war-torn country, Trump has said he wanted to bring the troops home when possible.

Reuters quoted a U.S. official as sayingthe State Department is evacuating all personnel from Syria over the next 24 hours and that the time frame for the troop withdrawal is 60 to 100 days.

Lawmakers weighed on Wednesday's announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, with Senate Armed Services Committee member Lindsey Graham tweeting, "Withdrawal of this small American force in Syria would be a huge Obama-like mistake."

Former President Barack Obama drew the ire of Trump for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq before Iraqi forces collapsed at the hands of IS in 2014.

Sen. Rand Paul, a member of the chamber's Committee on Foreign Relations, praised the move on Twitter.

Harry Kazianis, a defense expert with the Washington-based think-tank Center for the National Interest, said the Trump decision should not be seen as a shock.

"In fact, with President Trump promising to the American people he would act only in the national interest— and that U.S. forces have accomplished their objective to defeat the Islamic State — there was no reason for them to stay any longer," Kazianis said.

Mattis and State Department officials have expressed concern about leaving Syria before a peace agreement is reached to end the civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced about half of Syria's pre-war population of about 22 million people.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops comes as the U.S. approaches an end of a coalition campaign to recapture territory once controlled by IS.

While an alliance military campaign has defeated IS in Syria, the defeat has angered Turkey, a NATO ally, which is threatening a new offensive in Syria. Turkey considers the Kurdish forces in the alliance an extension of a militant group fighting inside Turkey.

A total pullout of U.S. troops from Syria would still leave the U.S. military with a sizable presence in the region, including more than 5,000 troops in neighboring Iraq. </s> The White House announced Wednesday that it has begun withdrawing U.S. troops from from Syria as military officials “transition to the next phase” of the Middle East conflict.

Contending that the United States has defeated the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, territorial caliphate, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration has “started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign.”

She, however, stressed that “these victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign,” and offered that the United States and its allies stand ready to “re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary.”

“We will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support and any means of infiltrating our borders,” she added in a statement.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, hinted at the troop withdrawal on Twitter.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he posted.

Trump and Sanders' comments came shortly after several news outlets reported that the White House had ordered the Pentagon to remove all 2,000 American troops from Syria and to end its ISIS ground campaign.

Despite the president’s assertion, defense officials suggested their work in Syria may not be over yet, according to reports.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning told CBS News that “at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region."

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a U.S. Air Force veteran and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, meanwhile, rejected Trump’s claim that ISIS has been defeated in Syria.

“This is simply not true,” he tweeted in response to the president.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. </s> The US Defense Department said on Friday that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) no longer holds any territory in Syria, according to a White House spokeswoman.

US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan briefed President Donald Trump as he was travelling to Florida on Air Force One, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

She said that the "territorial caliphate has been eliminated in Syria". Responding to a question regarding whether the armed group's territory had be "100 percent" eliminated, Sanders said "yes".

She directed other questions regarding the announcement to the Pentagon.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has not commented on the White House's announcement.

Earlier on Friday, the SDF said it had captured most of ISIL's last enclave in Baghouz, but there were still pockets of ISIL fighters.

The SDF has been battling for weeks to defeat ISIL in Baghouz in southeastern Syria at the Iraqi border. It was all that remained of the territory the armed group ruled, which once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq.

A Reuters journalist in Baghouz heard air strikes there on Friday afternoon and saw smoke rising.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said that difficulty, however, is that "ISIL hasn't gone away and everyone knows that".

"Trump will undoubtedly get the victory that he wanted ... but the group hasn't gone away," Fisher said.

Shortly after Sanders made the comments to reporters, Trump tweeted, "ISIS uses the internet better than almost anyone, but for all of those susceptible to ISIS propaganda, they are now being beaten badly at every level."

Trump had been teasing Friday's announcement for days. On Wednesday, he said the group would be "gone by tonight", showing reporters two maps that he claimed to show the reduction of ISIL's territory since he was elected president in 2016.

In December, Trump unexpectedly announced that he was pulling all 2,000 American troops out of Syria, declaring that ISIL had been defeated.

He walked back on that announcement, however, as military generals and politicians expressed fear that such a move would allow the group to re-emerge. He was then persuaded to leave about 400 troops in Syria. </s> Donald Trump has claimed that Islamic State has been defeated in Syria, amid reports that he is planning a full withdrawal of US troops from the country.

Around 2,000 US soldiers are deployed in Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve - the military operation targeting Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.

There has been major reductions in the amount of territory controlled by IS in Syria in recent years, with the militants reportedly only retaining a tiny amount of land.

Today, multiple US media outlets reported that a 'full and rapid' withdrawal of US troops has been ordered - despite apparent objections from senior defence officials.

According to the Wall Street Journal, US authorities have begun informing partners in northeastern Syria of plans for an "immediate pullout" of troops.

If a full withdrawal of ground forces takes place, the US would retain the ability to carry out airstrikes against targets in Syria.

In a statement quoted by Axios, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders claimed the US has "defeated the territorial caliphate".

She said: "These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign.

"The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support, and any means of infiltrating our borders."

Meanwhile, the US President himself took to Twitter to declare victory against the militants: </s> The United States has started to withdraw its troops from Syria, the White House said on Wednesday, asserting that it has been able to defeat the Islamic State in the strife-torn country.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Trump tweeted soon after which the White House announced that its troops have started returning from Syria.

“Five years ago, ISIS was a very powerful and dangerous force in the Middle East, and now the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate. These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

She said the United States troops have started returning home.

“The US and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support, and any means of infiltrating our borders,” she said.

The Pentagon declined to give any comment immediately.

“At this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Col Rob Manning said when asked whether the US military is preparing for a full withdrawal of forces in northeast Syria.

The Wall Street Journal described it as a abrupt decision by the Trump Administration.

“US officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin immediately pulling American forces out of the region, where they have been trying to wrap up the campaign against Islamic State,” the daily said, quoting unnamed official.

Several US lawmakers warned the Trump Administration that this was a grave error.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that the full and rapid withdrawal from Syria is a grave error with broader implications beyond just the fight against IS.

“The President’s tweet is dangerous, premature and wholly inconsistent with the facts on the ground in Syria and our military’s advice. I have travelled to Syria to review our mission, and our military has performed well beyond expectations,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

Shaheen said he is very concerned that “an ill-informed and hasty withdrawal” of troops will “breathe new life into ISIS” and other terrorist groups and cede America’s leadership role to Russia, Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. </s> WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will withdraw all of the approximately 2,000 American troops in Syria, according to a U.S. official, as the White House declared victory Wednesday in the mission to defeat Islamic State militants there.

Planning for the pullout has begun and troops will begin leaving as soon as possible, said the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss military planning and spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump said American forces no longer were needed in a country torn apart by long-running civil war.

Trump has said since he was a presidential candidate that he wanted to bring back troops from the Middle East.

But officials have said in recent weeks that pockets of IS militants remain. U.S. policy has been that American forces would stay in place until the extremists were eradicated.

In addition, Pentagon and other officials have said that U.S. troops were countering Iran-backed militants in Syria, which was an expansion of the U.S. mission.

Trump said on Twitter: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

His tweet followed a series of news reports that the U.S. was preparing to withdraw its troops from Syria.

Reports of an abrupt withdrawal drew quick criticism from Congress. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said a full and rapid removal of troops would be a “grave error with broader implications” beyond the fight against IS.

Responding to the reports, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said in a statement that “at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region.”

The U.S. first launched airstrikes against IS fighters in Syria in 2014. In the years that followed, the U.S. began partnering with Syrian ground forces to fight the extremists.

The Pentagon recently said that IS now controls just 1 percent of the territory they originally held. </s> WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will withdraw all of the approximately 2,000 American troops in Syria, according to a U.S. official, as the White House declared victory Wednesday in the mission to defeat Islamic State militants there.

Planning for the pullout has begun and troops will begin leaving as soon as possible, said the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss military planning and spoke on condition of anonymity. President Donald Trump said American forces no longer were needed in a country torn apart by long-running civil war.

Trump has said since he was a presidential candidate that he wanted to bring back troops from the Middle East. But officials have said in recent weeks that pockets of IS militants remain. U.S. policy has been that American forces would stay in place until the extremists were eradicated.

In addition, Pentagon and other officials have said that U.S. troops were countering Iran-backed militants in Syria, which was an expansion of the U.S. mission.

Trump said on Twitter: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

His tweet followed a series of news reports that the U.S. was preparing to withdraw its troops from Syria. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Reports of an abrupt withdrawal drew quick criticism from Congress. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said a full and rapid removal of troops would be a “grave error with broader implications” beyond the fight against IS.

Responding to the reports, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said in a statement that “at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region.”

The U.S. first launched airstrikes against IS fighters in Syria in 2014. In the years that followed, the U.S. began partnering with Syrian ground forces to fight the extremists.

The Pentagon recently said that IS now controls just 1 percent of the territory they originally held. </s> The Trump administration will withdraw all of the approximately 2,000 American troops in Syria, according to a U.S. official, as the White House declared victory Wednesday in the mission to defeat Islamic State militants there.

Planning for the pullout has begun and troops will begin leaving as soon as possible, said the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss military planning and spoke on condition of anonymity. President Donald Trump said American forces no longer were needed in a country torn apart by long-running civil war.

Trump has said since he was a presidential candidate that he wanted to bring back troops from the Middle East. But officials have said in recent weeks that pockets of IS militants remain. U.S. policy has been that American forces would stay in place until the extremists were eradicated.

In addition, Pentagon and other officials have said that U.S. troops were countering Iran-backed militants in Syria, which was an expansion of the U.S. mission.

Trump said on Twitter: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

His tweet followed a series of news reports that the U.S. was preparing to withdraw its troops from Syria. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Reports of an abrupt withdrawal drew quick criticism from Congress. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said a full and rapid removal of troops would be a “grave error with broader implications” beyond the fight against IS.

Responding to the reports, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said in a statement that “at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region.”

The U.S. first launched airstrikes against IS fighters in Syria in 2014. In the years that followed, the U.S. began partnering with Syrian ground forces to fight the extremists.

The Pentagon recently said that IS now controls just 1 per cent of the territory they originally held. </s> THE United States said it has begun withdrawing its forces from Syria as it winds up its campaign to retake territory once held by Islamic State.

“We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

US President Donald Trump earlier tweeted: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there.”

It was not immediately clear from Sanders’ statement whether all of the roughly 2,000 US troops in the country would leave and if so, by when.

Sanders suggested that the US would remain engaged to some degree.

“The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support,” she said.

A decision to pull out completely, if confirmed, would upend assumptions about a longer-term US military presence in Syria, which senior officials have advocated to help ensure Islamic State cannot re-emerge.

Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, often a Trump ally, said a withdrawal would have “devastating consequences” for the US in the region and throughout the world.

“An American withdrawal at this time would be a big win for ISIS, Iran, (President) Bashar al Assad of Syria, and Russia,” Graham said.

Trump has previously lambasted his predecessor, Barack Obama, for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq that preceded an unraveling of the Iraqi armed forces. Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of Islamic State’s advance into the country in 2014.

A pullout would allow other countries to increase their influence in Syria, experts said.

“If we withdraw then who fills the vacuum, who is able to stabilize and that is the million dollar question,” said Andrew Tabler, a Syria specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and State Department officials have long fretted about leaving Syria before a peace agreement can be reached to end the country’s civil war.

In April, Mattis said: “We do not want to simply pull out before the diplomats have won the peace. You win the fight, and then you win the peace.”

A complete withdrawal of US troops from Syria would still leave a sizeable US military presence in the region, including about 5,200 troops across the border in Iraq.

Much of the US campaign in Syria has been waged by warplanes flying out of Qatar and other locations in the Middle East.

Brett McGurk, the US special envoy for the global coalition to defeat Islamic State, said last week that the group was down to its last 1 percent of the territory it once held in its self-styled “caliphate.” The group has no remaining territory in Iraq.

But US officials have warned that taking back the group’s territory would not be the same as defeating it. ISIS is expected to now wage a guerrilla campaign.

“Even as the end of the physical caliphate is clearly now coming into sight, the end of ISIS will be a much more long-term initiative,” McGurk said.
The Pentagon reports it has begun withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, with a spokesperson saying that the coalition has liberated ISIL-held territory but also that the campaign is not over.