Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.WASHINGTON – The U.S. is withdrawing all remaining troops from northern Syria, as President Donald Trump said Sunday it was “very smart… for a change” to not be involved in the fighting sparked by Turkey’s onslaught against the U.S.’s long-time battlefield ally, Kurdish fighters.Trump said he was working with congressional leaders, including opposition Democrats, to impose “powerful” economic sanctions against Turkey for its cross-border attacks, even though Ankara has voiced objections in advance. He said on Twitter there is “great consensus” to act against Turkey, a NATO member alongside the U.S.Dealing with Jelal Ayaf, co-chair of the Ayn Issa Camp, estimated 850 foreigners linked to IS escaped and had help from sleeper cells that infiltrated part of the camp. Escaped IS family members and supporters are thought to include those from Britain, Ireland, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.The Save the Children charity said it was deeply troubled by the reports, warning of “a danger that children of foreign nationals could now be lost in the chaos.”It said the camp was empty of foreign women and that “foreign masked men on motorbikes are circling” it.FILE – In this photo taken from Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, smoke billows from fires on targets in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, caused by bombardment by Turkish forces, Oct. 13, 2019.Turkey launched its long-planned military operation last Wednesday aimed at taking out the Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The military operation began days after a surprise and widely criticized White House announcement that U.S. forces would withdraw from the region.Speaking to VOA Persian, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mustafa Bali said people in northern Syria were “frustrated and disappointed” that Trump initially withdrew dozens of U.S. troops that had been stationed in northern Syria, shortly before Turkey launched the offensive. The troops were part of a U.S. military deployment that has partnered with the SDF in the fight against IS.The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs estimates that more than 130,000 people have been displaced so far by the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, with many of them staying with relatives and host communities, but a growing number living in collective shelters.
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