Turkey has launched a military operation in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, days after the Trump administration announced its controversial decision to pull U.S. troops out of the area.

"Turkish Armed Forces together with the Syrian National Army against PKK / YPG and Daesh terrorist organizations in northern Syria #BarışPınarıHarekatı has started," Erdogan wrote on Twitter, according to that site's translation feature.

"Our aim is to destroy the terror corridor which is trying to be established on our southern border and to bring peace and peace to the region," Erdogan tweeted.

Erdogan TWEET

President Donald Trump said later Wednesday that the U.S. didn't endorse the attack. Here is the president's full statement, released by the White House press office:

This morning, Turkey, a NATO member, invaded Syria. The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea. There are no American soldiers in the area. From the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars—especially those that don't benefit the United States. Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place—and we will hold them to this commitment. In addition, Turkey is now responsible for ensuring all ISIS fighters being held captive remain in prison and that ISIS does not reconstitute in any way, shape, or form. We expect Turkey to abide by all of its commitments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, is militarily led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, a group Ankara claims are terrorists and a security threat on its southern border. The Turks stress the YPG's ties to a separatist Kurdish group in Turkey, the PKK, which has carried out a decades-long violent insurgency against the Turkish state.

"With the Operation Spring of Peace, we will eliminate the threat of terrorism towards our country. Thanks to the SAFE ZONE we will establish, we will ensure that Syrian refugees return to their countries. We will protect the territorial integrity of Syria, and free the people of the region from the clutches of terror," Erdogan tweeted.

Turkey's long-expected incursion in northern Syria came less than a week after Trump spoke with Erdogan on the phone. After the call, the White House announced that "Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria" and "United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial 'Caliphate,' will no longer be in the immediate area."

Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, tweeted Wednesday that "Turkish warplanes have started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas."

Mustafa Bali TWEET

Reuters reported later Wednesday that the SDF have halted their anti-ISIS operations as they deal with the Turkish offensive.

The Kurds bore the brunt of the war against ISIS and are largely responsible defeating the terror group.

Trump's abrupt foreign policy move was met with immediate bipartisan criticism. Lawmakers from both major political parties accused the Trump administration of abandoning the Kurdish forces in the area who helped the U.S. fight ISIS.

Among the most scathing comments came from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump's closest allies in Congress who has nevertheless been one of his loudest critics on the withdrawal from Syria.