US confirms withdrawal from Al-Tanf base in Syria

The United States on Thursday confirmed its forces have departed Al-Tanf in Syria, as Damascus said its troops took control of the base near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders. "The orderly departure of US forces from al-Tanf" was completed the previous day, US Central Command (CENTCOM) -- which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East -- said in a statement. It described the move as being "part of a deliberate and conditions-based transition".

CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper insisted that American forces remained ready to respond to threats from the Islamic State jihadist group, saying that maintaining pressure on the militants "is essential to protecting the US homeland and strengthening regional security." Syria's defense ministry meanwhile said in a statement that its army units have taken control of Al-Tanf "and have begun deploying along the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian" border nearby. During the Syrian civil war and the fight against IS, US forces were deployed in the country's Kurdish-controlled northeast, as well as at Al-Tanf.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were a major partner of the US-led international coalition against IS, and were instrumental in the group's territorial defeat in Syria in 2019. However, following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad more than a year ago, the United States has drawn closer to the new government in Damascus, recently declaring that the need for its alliance with the Kurds had largely passed.

Syria agreed to join the anti-IS coalition when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House in November. Following the withdrawal from Al-Tanf and the government's advances in northeast Syria, US troops are now primarily based at the Qasrak base in Hasakeh, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Despite IS's territorial defeat, the group remains active.

It was blamed for a December attack in Palmyra in which a lone gunman opened fire on American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian. Washington has conducted retaliatory strikes on IS targets in Syria, and CENTCOM says it has killed or captured more than 50 IS militants in the past two months.