White House says U.S. not involved in Turkish operation in Northern Syria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. armed forces will not be involved or support a planned Turkish operation in northern Syria, the White House press secretary said on Sunday after a phone call between President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

U.S. forces "having defeated the ISIS territorial 'Caliphate' will no longer be in the immediate area," the press secretary said in a statement.

Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years, according to the statement.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Tom Hogue; editing by Darren Schuettler)