Senior defense officials say US executing deliberate phased withdrawal of troops out of Syria
U.S. troops in Syria are racing to try to protect classified materials and valuable military equipment as the Turkish military and Russian-backed forces move toward abandoned U.S. bases in Syria.
Two Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) F-15 jets destroyed a base that was the headquarters of the anti-ISIS coalition in northern Syria on Wednesday after it had been vacated, according to a military official.
OIR Spokesman Col. Myles Caggins III said the fighter jets "successfully conducted a pre-planned precision airstrike at the Lafarge Cement Factory to destroy an ammunition cache and reduce the facility’s military usefulness."
All coalition forces and equipment had been removed from the base, which was located between Kobanî and Ain Issa, Caggins said.
The move comes as nearly all U.S. troops withdraw from Syria amid a Turkish military offensive into the region that began last week.
Most U.S. troops in Syria have been removed and will be redeployed in the region in the coming weeks.
Caggins confirmed earlier Wednesday that the Coalition's deliberate withdrawal continues, and the Lafarge Cement Factory in northern Syria, as well as the cities of Raqqa and Tabqah, had been vacated.
Caggins told Fox News on Tuesday that the cement factory was set on fire before it was vacated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
TURKISH-BACKED FORCES COME 'VERY CLOSE' TO US TROOPS IN SYRIA, OFFICIAL SAYS
"The location had been the headquarters of the de facto Defeat-ISIS coalition in Syria," he said. "No U.S. forces or equipment were ever in jeopardy and remain within separate, secure facilities."
"Our priority is protecting the remaining Coalition forces at the LCF as multiple forces converge in northeast Syria," Caggins said at the time. "Coalition forces are executing a deliberate withdrawal from northeast Syria."
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Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Frank Miles contributed to this report.
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