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Reports: U.S. Planning ‘Complete Withdrawal Of Troops’ From Syria


There are currently around 2,000 American troops in Syria. (file photo)
There are currently around 2,000 American troops in Syria. (file photo)

The United States is preparing to withdraw all its troops from Syria, according to U.S. media reports.

CNN quoted a defense official as saying on December 19 that the planning was for a "full" and "rapid" withdrawal.

The timing of the withdrawal was not immediately clear.

The Pentagon and White House declined to comment on the reports.

But President Donald Trump tweeted that the Islamic State (IS) extremist group had been defeated in Syria and that was his "only reason for being there."

Earlier this year, Trump promised to pull U.S. troops out of Syria "very soon."

There are currently around 2,000 American troops in Syria, many of them special operations forces working with an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias battling the IS group.

Most U.S. soldiers are based in northeastern Syria, where they had been helping to rid the area of IS fighters, but pockets of militants still remain.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and the BBC

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