(RNN) – President Donald Trump is ordering a drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to reports.
According to CNN, the military is being ordered to withdraw about half of the troops there. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the order has been given.
It comes a day after the president on Wednesday ordered that the U.S. withdraw its troop presence in Syria.
According to a defense official who spoke to CNN, it could take months for roughly 7,000 troops to leave Afghanistan, cutting the forces there in half.
The president announced on Thursday that Defense Secretary James Mattis was leaving his post at the end of February.
In a letter, Mattis suggested his departure was linked to disagreements over the decisions to pull out of Syria and Afghanistan.
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