Washington: The order has been signed for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, where they have been deployed to assist in the war against the Islamic State jihadist group, a US military spokesperson said on Sunday. "The execute order for Syria has been signed," the spokesperson said, without providing further details.
While Pentagon officials refused to discuss specifics of the order, a senior defense official told Fox News that outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed the orders to pull all American troops out of Syria in the coming weeks.
Trump on Sunday announced that Mattis will now leave his post on January 1, tweeting that deputy Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary to cover the accelerated departure.
Mattis resigned three days ago in protest over Trump's decision to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria.
The US President has declared the jihadist group "largely defeated," and made the surprise decision to bring US forces home -- a move that many US politicians and international allies fear is premature and would further destabilize the already devastated region.
The decision — which was followed by another to make a significant cut to the number of American troops in Afghanistan — has prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and US envoy to the international anti-IS coalition Brett McGurk.
(With AFP inputs)
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