US troops leave Syria and cross into Iraq where some will stay

Hundreds of trucks carrying American troops have crossed into Iraq in a long military convoy Monday, marking the largest withdrawal of US forces from Syria to date.

US personnel, who were fighting the terror group alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, will be mostly repositioned in western Iraq, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, while some will remain temporarily in Syria to protect oil fields from ISIS. It’s an apparent walk back of President Donald Trump’s assertion last week that he would bring all American troops stationed in Syria “back home.”

On Monday, Esper said there had been discussions about keeping US troops in northern Syria for longer but no military plan had yet been presented to the President.

Separately, The New York Times reported that Trump was learning towards keeping a small contingent of about 200 troops in eastern Syria. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

A convoy of US military vehicles arrives near the Iraqi Kurdish town of Bardarash after withdrawing from northern Syria.

US military vehicles drive on a road after US forces pulled out of their base in northern Syria.

Early Monday morning, CNN filmed American personnel traveling through the dark in hundreds of armored vehicles and SUVs in Qamishli, northern Syria.

The vehicles, many adorned with US flags, were laden with equipment as they drove over a border crossing into Iraq. The convoy was traveling in the direction of Mosul, though it is not clear where their exact destination is.

Nearby, US vehicles were pelted with rotten potatoes and tomatoes by Syrian-Kurdish people. Locals were seen standing in front of armored US vehicles with their hands in the air shouting abuse at the convoy, a video filmed by Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) showed.

When the hundreds of US troops reach Iraq, which could take several weeks to complete, they will likely be deployed on two missions, Esper said.

“One is to help defend Iraq and two is to perform a counter-ISIS mission as we sort through the next steps,” he added.

The US had stationed about 1,000 soldiers in Syria at the start of its offensive against ISIS several years ago.

Kurdish forces leave border town

As US forces continued their withdrawal, Kurdish troops belonging to the SDF evacuated from the key border town of Ras al-Ain as part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Turkey.

SDF spokesperson Kino Gabriel said in a statement Sunday that all of the Kurdish-led group’s fighters had left the embattled center.

“We don’t have any more fighters in the city,” the statement said.

The 120-hour ceasefire deal brokered between US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls for the withdrawal of SDF forces from what Turkey calls a “safe zone” along its border in northeast Syria.

A car burns following a car bomb explosion in Tal Abyad, a city in northern Syria near the Turkey border, on Saturday, November 23.

Kurdish demonstrators hurl rocks at a Turkish military vehicle on Friday, November 8, during a joint Turkish-Russian patrol near the town of Al-Muabbadah in the northeastern part of Hassakah on the Syrian border with Turkey.

A man stands next to a burning motorcycle at the site of a deadly car bomb explosion in Tal Abyad, Syria, on Saturday, November 2. Turkey's defense ministry blamed the Kurdish People's Protection Units and the Kurdistan Workers Party, while a group aligned with the Kurds blamed Turkey.

A man inspects the site of the car bomb explosion in Tal Abyad.

A Turkish and Russian patrol is seen near the town of Darbasiyah, Syria, on Friday, November 1. Turkey and Russia launched patrols in northeastern Syria under a deal that halted the Turkish offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Turkish soldiers east of Ras al-Ain watch as a tank fires on positions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces on Monday, October 28.

Syrian Kurds wave flags in Qamishli as they take part in a demonstration in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces on October 28.

Kurdish forces withdraw from an area near the Turkish border with Syria on Sunday, October 27.

Displaced Syrian children sit on classroom tables at a school turned into a shelter on Thursday, October 24.

Russian military police began patrols on part of the Syrian border on Wednesday, October 23.

People angry over the US withdrawal hurl potatoes at American military vehicles as they pass through Qamishli on Monday, October 21. The image was taken from video provided by the Kurdish Hawar News Agency.

US military vehicles drive after pulling out of their base in the northern Syrian town of Tal Tamr on Sunday, October 20.

A US service member looks out of an armored vehicle as troops pull out of their base in Tal Tamr.

Smoke billows from a fire in Ras al-Ain, Syria, on Friday, October 18. US Vice President Mike Pence announced a day earlier that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to a ceasefire halting Turkey's incursion into northern Syria. The Turkish government insisted that the agreement was not a ceasefire, but only a "pause" on operations in the region.

A woman reacts as a man's dead body arrives at a hospital in Ras al-Ain on October 18.

Displaced Syrians carry their belongings at a refugee camp north of Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday, October 17.

Local residents cheer as Turkish army tanks are transported on the outskirts of Akcakale, Turkey, on October 17.

A local resident of Ras al-Ain kisses the forehead of a member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army on October 17.

Displaced people ride a motorcycle on the outskirts of Tal Tamr, Syria, on Wednesday, October 16.

People in Qamishli, Syria, attend a funeral Monday, October 14, for five fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

A person inspects damage to a building in Akcakale, Turkey, on Sunday, October 13. The building was damaged by a mortar fired from inside Syria.

Some fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces are buried in Qamishli on Saturday, October 12.

Smoke billows from Tal Abyad, Syria, on Friday, October 11.

Pro-Turkish Syrian fighters drive an armored personnel carrier across the border into Syria on October 11.

People drive past shops in Akcakale, Turkey, that were closed by owners who feared incoming shelling from Syria.

Turkish-backed fighters of the Free Syrian Army head toward Tal Abyad, Syria, on Thursday, October 10.

Refugees arrive in Tal Tamr, Syria, after fleeing the fighting on October 10.

A woman holds a baby after arriving in Tal Tamr.

Smoke rises from Tal Abyad, Syria, on October 10.

People in Akcakale, Turkey, watch smoke billow from inside Syria.

Turkish soldiers move into Tal Abyad.

Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, October 9.

Civilians flee during the bombardment on October 9. Roads were gridlocked with hundreds of fleeing families.

Turkish troops prepare for the operation on October 9.

Refugees leave their homes near the Turkey-Syria border.

Turkish military vehicles drive through Akcakale, Turkey, near the border.

Turkey launched airstrikes and artillery fire across the border on October 9.

Residents of Akcakale cheer as a convoy of Turkish military vehicles is driven to the Syrian border just after the offensive began.

"Our aim is to destroy the terror corridor which is trying to be established on our southern border and to bring peace and peace to the region," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted as he announced the start of the operation.

Smoke is seen in Tal Abyad, Syria, on October 9.

Kurdish people in Ras al-Ain, Syria, wave their group's flags as they protest against a military operation on Monday, October 7.

In photos: The conflict in northern Syria

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Erdogan has warned that Turkey’s offensive would resume if the US does not deliver on its guarantee to get Syrian Kurdish fighters out of the area by Tuesday night.

The Turkish government insists the agreement is only a “pause” on operations in the region to allow Kurdish fighters to leave – and not a ceasefire.

Turkey considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) that make up the backbone of the SDF to be the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey and the US classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.

On Saturday, dozens of injured people were evacuated from Ras al-Ain in a humanitarian convoy after it was granted permission to enter the besieged town.

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The SDF previously charged Turkey – or the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) – with blocking the evacuation of their civilians, the wounded and fighters from the town.

On Sunday, a Turkish Ministry of Defense statement said, “there hasn’t been any obstruction” and the evacuation process was being closely coordinated with US counterparts.

Aid worker David Eubanks of the Free Burma Rangers, who was part of the convoy, spoke to CNN in a phone call from northeast Syria saying, “we have been trying for days – finally a humanitarian corridor opened and we were surprised. Free Syrian Army checkpoint let us pass and we went directly into the hospital, evacuated 37 and some of the dead.”

Ceasefire violations

The SDF accused Turkey on Saturday of continuing to violate the ceasefire and urged the Trump administration to force the creation of a humanitarian corridor.

It said in a statement that attacks from the Turkish military and Turkish-backed militants?resulted in “16 martyrs and three wounded in our ranks” in a 24-hour period.

Turkish forces and their allies continued to attack Syrian villages despite agreeing to the ceasefire, according to the statement, which added that?Turkish forces had?targeted villages near?Ras al-Ain “by aerial bombardments and brought in?more troops and preparations for the ceasefire areas.”

The Turkish Defense Ministry accused the SDF of 20 cases of harassment fire and violations of the five-day agreement. Light weapon and antitank fire killed one Turkish soldier and wounded another early Sunday, the ministry said in a statement. “We have responded in kind within the right to self defense,” the statement added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) shakes hands with his host Russian President Vladimir Putin as they visit the MAKS-2019 International Aviation and Space Salon opening day in Zhukovsky outside of Moscow on August 27, 2019. (Photo by Maxim SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read MAXIM SHIPENKOV/AFP/Getty Images)

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However speaking to reporters aboard a US military aircraft en route to Afghanistan, Esper said the ceasefire “generally seems to be holding” despite “reports of intermittent fires.” He would not say who was committing those violations.

Late Sunday, Kurdish leader Ilham Ahmed landed in Washington, DC, for what her office told CNN are meetings with officials from the Trump administration and others on the future of northern Syria.

Ahmed is a Syrian-Kurdish politician and the head of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC).

This story has been updated.

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh, Barbara Starr, Jonny Hallam, Gul Tuysuz, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ingrid Formanek, Kareem Khadder, and Jaide Garcia contributed to reporting.