NPR

White House Orders Pentagon To Pull U.S. Troops From Syria

U.S. troops have been in Syria since late 2015. The move is a reversal of U.S. policy: Earlier this month, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said troops would stay to stabilize the country.

Updated at 1:10 p.m. ET

The U.S. plans to withdraw all of its troops from Syria, a senior Pentagon official tells NPR. About 2,000 U.S. troops are currently in the northeastern part of the country, near the Turkish border.

The decision to remove all troops from Syria was made by the White House late last week and sent to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, the official says.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff held a meeting on Monday about the issue, and officials at U.S. Central Command

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