The United States has no timeline for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria but does not plan to stay indefinitely, a senior State Department official says.
US-backed forces are still retaking territory from Islamic State in Syria, Pentagon officials say, two weeks after President Donald Trump said he would withdraw the roughly 2,000 US troops in Syria.
The administration's abrupt announcement last month, which took officials in Washington and allies by surprise, contributed to Jim Mattis' decision to resign as defense secretary and prompted concern that Islamic State could stage a comeback.
"We have no timeline for our military forces to withdraw from Syria," said the State Department official, who asked not to be identified.
"It will be done in such a way that we and our allies and partners maintain pressure on ISIS throughout and we do not open up any vacuums for terrorists."
The United States did not intend to have an indefinite military presence in Syria, the official added.
US officials say it could take several months to carry out a withdrawal, potentially giving time for US-backed forces to deal parting blows to the militant group that once held broad swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would get out of Syria slowly "over a period of time" and would protect U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in the country as Washington draws down troops.
Trump also said it was up to other countries to fight Islamic State, including Russia and Iran, and said that Islamic State was down to its last remaining bits of territory in Syria.
"We're hitting the hell out of them, the ISIS people," Trump said.
White House national security adviser John Bolton will also travel to Israel and Turkey in the coming days.
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