BREAKING NEWS

U.S. military officials to meet Turkish counterparts about Syria

ISTANBUL, Dec 24  - U.S. military officials will come to Turkey to meet with their Turkish counterparts and discuss coordination on Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Monday.

U.S. troops are preparing for withdrawal following Washington's surprise decision to pull out of Syria, where it has backed the Syrian Kurdish YPG forces against Islamic State.

Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said there will be no step back or slowdown in the fight against the Islamic State, and that Turkey will work closely with Russia in Syria, where Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.