The United States is consolidating its forces supporting counter-ISIS operations in Syria, reducing the number of U.S. troops in the country to fewer than 1,000 in the coming months, Pentagon officials said Friday.
“Recognizing the success the United States has had against ISIS, including its 2019 territorial defeat under President Trump, today the Secretary of Defense directed the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria under Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve to select locations in Syria,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “This consolidation reflects the significant steps we have made toward degrading ISIS’ appeal and operational capability regionally and globally.”
The Pentagon did not specify in the release how many troops will be withdrawn, but The New York Times reported Thursday that the number is 600. The release also did not provide a specific timeline for the withdrawal, beyond stating it would “bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than 1,000 forces in the coming months.”
“As this consolidation takes place, consistent with President Trump’s commitment to peace through strength, U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria,” Parnell said. “We will also work closely with capable and willing Coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise.”
The U.S. troops have been critical not only in the operations against the Islamic State but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Turkey, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups.
President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
The departure of 600 troops would return force levels to where they had been for years, after the U.S. and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat IS. The U.S. had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the IS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria.
The number of U.S. troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted U.S. troops and interests in the region in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Three U.S. troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.
In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country. In the months since, Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have returned home, but the country remains unstable. Israel has targeted Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the Islamic State group is trying to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria remain a threat to U.S. interests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.
Beth Sullivan is an editor for Military Times. Previously, she worked as a staff reporter for The Daily Memphian and as an assistant editor at The Austin Chronicle.
Read the full article here