In the face of an open  declaration by US President Donald Trump that American troops were withdrawing from Syria, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has said the president did not give Turkey the green light to invade Syria. 

Speaking to PBS News Hour on Thursday, Pompeo said that it became very clear during the phone call with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan that some American soldiers were going to be at risk and Trump made a decision to put them out of harm’s way.

Pompeo added that he feels that Turkey has a legitimate security concern, waving off claims by Republican Senator, Lindsay Graham that the attack could lead to a re-emergence of IS.

The land assault by Turkey, alongside the Syrian National Army came as US forces began withdrawing from the region on Sunday.

President Erdogan had announced the start of the campaign, which followed Donald Trump’s decision on Sunday to alter US policy. Erdogan has since said Turkish forces have killed 109 militants.

As the start of the operation was announced, television stations in Turkey reported airstrikes in the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad.

Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Turkish warplanes were targeting civilian areas in northern Syria, causing a huge panic in the region.

Other reports suggested that mortar shells had been fired into Turkey from the Syrian side of the border although there has been no independent confirmation of these claims.