US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would withdraw troops from all Syrian territory, saying he had achieved his goal of "defeating the Islamic state."
"It is a complete withdrawal," an official said on condition of anonymity.
"We have defeated the organization of the Islamic state in Syria, which is the only reason for our existence during the Trump presidency," the president wrote in a tweet on Twitter.
There are currently some 2,000 US troops in Syria.
Trump has repeatedly stressed his willingness to withdraw troops from Syria, but many members of his administration have expressed a different view on this sensitive issue.
Last spring, when the issue was on the table, a compromise was reached without harming Trump. The administration has said the withdrawal remains a "target," but without a timetable.
Just last week, the United States´ envoy to the international coalition against jihadists, Brett McGuck, confirmed that the Americans would stay for some time in Syria.
"Even if the end of the caliphate is now at hand, the completion of the organization of the Islamic state will take much longer," he told the press in Washington. "There are secret cells" and "no one is naive enough to say he will disappear" overnight.
Of course, we have learned a lot of lessons, so we know that we can not just pack up and leave as soon as the land is liberated, "McGregk said. Defense Secretary Jim Matisse has long warned of a hasty withdrawal from Syria.
"We must avoid leaving a vacuum in Syria that could be exploited by the Assad regime or its supporters," Matisse said in June.
