Many took to social media to criticize the White House’s decision and said the U.S. is essentially abandoning the Kurds. The Syrian Democratic Forces say over 11,000 of their fighters were killed and 21,000 were wounded fighting ISIS.

KURDS SHOCKED BY US TROOP WITHDRAWAL 

Turkey views the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged an insurgency against Turkey for 35 years.

Ankara and Washington consider the PKK a terror group but they diverge on the issue of the YPG, which forms the core of U.S.-backed Syrian forces against ISIS and is loosely linked with the SDF.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report