时政新闻学英语之98：美国开始从叙利亚撤军

原文见US starts returning troops home from Syria, says White House。

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has started returning US troops home from Syria after claiming a victory（宣布胜利） in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), the White House said on Wednesday.

"We have started returning United States troops home as we transition（转向） to the next phase of this campaign," said White House Spokesperson Sarah Sanders in a statement, claiming that America has "defeated the territorial caliphate（区域独裁者）".

All US State Department personnel are being evacuated（撤退） from Syria within 24 hours, reported Reuters after the White House announcement, citing an anonymous administration official.

The official also revealed that the time-frame for the troops withdrawal from the war-torn（战火遍地） Arab country is expected to be between 60 and 100 days.

Sanders' statement came about one hour after US President Donald Trump hinted（提到） in a tweet about imminent（即将到来的） US troop withdrawal from Syria.

"We have defeated ISIS (the IS) in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency," Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning.

Earlier on the day, US media cited anonymous officials as saying that the United States is planning a "rapid" and "full" withdrawal of troops from Syria.

Trump has long voiced his desire to bring the US troops back home when possible, while senior administration officials including Defense Secretary James Mattis have advocated（倡议） for a longer-term military deployment（部署） in Syria to secure a victory against the IS.

Currently, there are more than 2,000 US soldiers deployed in Syria.