The Pentagon pushed back on President Donald Trump's claim that Islamic State militants had been defeated in Syria.
The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that planning was underway for a "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of U.S. troops from the civil war-torn Middle Eastern nation, and Trump claimed victory a short time on Twitter.
The sudden withdrawal reverses previously stated U.S. policy, and the decision was made by the president -- who has long said he wanted American troops out of Syria.
A Pentagon spokeswoman challenged the president's claims about ISIS a short time later in a statement.
Even though the US will continue to maintain troops in Iraq with the capability of launching strikes into Syria, a US withdrawal of ground forces would fulfill a major goal of Syria, Iran and Russia and risks diminishing US influence in the region.
"The coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign is not over," said Dana White, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.
"We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign," White added. "For force protection and operational security reasons we will not provide further details."
The U.S. will keep troops in Iraq that are capable of striking Syria, but withdrawing ground forces would fulfill a major strategic goal of Syria, Iran and Russia.
