The US-led coalition battling Islamic State added to confusion surrounding the US withdrawal from Syria on Friday by saying it had started the pullout process, but officials later clarified that only equipment, not troops, were being withdrawn.
President Donald Trump's announcement last month that he had decided to withdraw the 2,000 US troops there stunned allies who have joined Washington in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.
Senior US officials were shocked too, among them Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who quit in protest.
US Colonel Sean Ryan, a coalition spokesman, said the coalition "has begun the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria."