US withdraws over 400 troops from Syria

Over 400 US Marines involved in battling the Daesh militant group in Syria are being withdrawn as part of a cut in forces after the capture of militant”capital” Raqqa, the US-led coalition said on Thursday.
“The Marines supported Coalition partner forces with precise artillery strikes in the fight against Daesh,” the coalition said in a statement.
“With the city liberated and Daesh on the run, the unit has been ordered home. Its replacements have been called off.”
The coalition’s director of operations Brigadier General Jonathan Braga called the move “a real sign of progress” as the militants have seen the vast swathes of ground they seized across Syria and Iraq in 2014 reduced to just a few remaining pockets.
“We’re drawing down combat forces where it makes sense, but still continuing our efforts to help Syrian and Iraqi partners maintain security,” he said in the statement.
A recent report from the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center said that as of Sept.30 the US military had 1,720 troops in Syria and 8,892 in Iraq.
Those numbers were far above the officially released figure of 503 in Syria and 5,262 in Iraq.