US withdraws 1,000 troops from northern Syria due to Turkish operation

According to him, Washington "is preparing to evacuate about 1,000 US troops from northern Syria as quickly and safely as possible."

“Over the past 24 hours, we learned that (Turkey - RT) probably intends to spread its attacks further south than originally planned, and west,” he said.

Esper added that the US fears that their military may be “between two opposing advancing armies, and this is a very serious situation.”

“Last night I talked with the president after discussions with the rest of the national security group, and he instructed us to begin withdrawing troops from northern Syria,” he said.

Previously, the Pentagon announced the shelling of the US military from Turkish positions in the vicinity of Syrian Kobani.

The Turkish Department of Defense said that measures had been taken to prevent damage to the US observation post in northern Syria.