PENTAGON sources have announced that they are pulling military support for CIA counter-terrorism missions by January 2021, ahead of the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden.

Citing a number of officials “familiar with the matter,” military news site Defense One reported that Acting Under-Secretary of Defence for Intelligence, Ezra Cohen-Watnik, was carrying out a review of resources.

He was appointed by the Trump administration just a week after the US presidential election and is understood to be reallocating resources to missions relating to Russia and China.

The Pentagon routinely provides special-operations forces to the CIA Special Activities Centre for use in clandestine or covert operations that the US does not wish to claim publicly.

The military operatives come under the control of the US intelligence agency as “a permanent houseguest,” according to a former official.

Support is provided to the CIA around the globe, including vital logistics assistance and physical security in countries including Afghanistan and other active combat zones.

Fears have been expressed by the Special Activities Centre that the cuts could endanger the remaining CIA officers in war zones where the US military is scaling back its presence.

President Donald Trump was accused of a Pentagon purge after losing the presidential election in November.

A number of high-profile figures, including Defence Secretary Mark Esper, were sacked in the weeks following his defeat, in what was seen as an act of revenge against those who he believed stymied his plans.

“The long knives are out, and he’s a big score settler,” former Air Force secretary in the Obama administration Deborah James said.

In 2017 Mr Trump brought an end to Operation Timber Sycamore, Barack Obama’s covert CIA programme which provided billions of dollars of funding, including military training and equipment, to jihadist groups in Syria over a four-year period.