US troops depart Syria, ending decade of presence in fight against ISIS
The last major American bases in Syria have been turned over to the government in Damascus, US military officials confirmed to Al-Monitor.
WASHINGTON — US troops have handed over their remaining bases in Syria to government forces, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday, a move confirmed by US officials.
The transfer effectively ends a decade-long American ground presence in Syria, where US troops armed, trained and advised local factions in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
ISIS surrendered its final territorial holdout near the Iraqi border in March 2019.
Syria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it welcomed “the completed handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present to the Syrian government.”
"The Syrian state is today fully capable of leading counterterrorism efforts from within, in cooperation with the international community," the statement said.
Meanwhile, a US official confirmed the news, telling Al-Monitor, “US forces have completed turning over all of our major bases in Syria, as part of a deliberate and conditions-based transition."
The departure of American forces from Syria marks the culmination of recent years’ policy shift in Washington from combating transnational Sunni jihadist movements in the Middle East to containing and disarming Iran.
The Obama administration first authorized US special forces to operate from Syrian territory against ISIS in 2015. As the troop presence grew, the first Trump administration sought to repurpose the footprint to contain Iran’s proxies who, US officials said, were moving radars and long-range weapons systems towards Israel’s borders under the guise of supporting the Assad regime. Trump twice ordered the US to withdraw during his first term, but both orders were eventually reversed.
This week’s completion of the roughly year-long withdrawal came as the US and Iran are now seeking a diplomatic solution to halt the first ever direct war between the two countries, which has seen Iranian ballistic missiles and drones target military bases that typically house US troops across the region. Iran’s missiles and drones have landed in more than a dozen countries since Feb. 28.
American military outposts in Syria have long been considered by Pentagon officials to be among the more vulnerable in the region, as they typically lack the advanced ground-based air defenses that cover Washington’s diplomatic facilities and major bases in the region.
The US military began its latest attempt to withdraw from Syria early last year, after President Donald Trump embraced the country’s new Islamist president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, following the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024.
The Pentagon quietly paused the withdrawal multiple times over the past year due to concerns about the country’s political stability and the potential for thousands of ISIS prisoners to escape from captivity in the country’s makeshift prisons.
Late last year, a gunman allegedly affiliated with the Syrian Interior Ministry attacked and killed two Iowa National Guard soldiers and a Turkish-American interpreter at a coordination meeting in the city of Palmyra.
In January, Syrian forces launched a surprise offensive to wrest control of the country’s northeast from Kurdish-led militias previously armed and trained by the US, leading US Central Command (CENTCOM) to authorize an emergency airlift evacuation of several thousand remaining ISIS military-aged male prisoners to government-run detention facilities in neighboring Iraq.
The airlift, completed in February, paved the way for the withdrawal of the last remaining American troops this week, military officials said.
Though the US has left its bases in Syria, American troops continue to work directly with the Ministry of Interior in Damascus in keeping tabs on ISIS’ remnants, officials have said.
“US forces continue to support partner-led counterterrorism efforts, which are essential to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS and strengthening regional security,” the official said.
Despite the withdrawal, the Trump administration is seeking $130 million to fund counter-ISIS local forces in Syria for next fiscal year — the same amount Congress allocated for this year.
