US to reduce military footprint in Syria to fewer than 1,000 troops

The US is consolidating its forces supporting counter-ISIS operations in Syria, decreasing the variety of U.S. troops within the nation to fewer than 1,000 within the coming months, Pentagon officers stated Friday.

“Recognizing the success america has had in opposition to ISIS, together with its 2019 territorial defeat underneath President Trump, at present the Secretary of Protection directed the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria underneath Mixed Joint Process Power — Operation Inherent Resolve to pick out areas in Syria,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated in a press release. “This consolidation displays the numerous steps we now have made towards degrading ISIS’ attraction and operational functionality regionally and globally.”

The Pentagon didn’t specify within the launch what number of troops will likely be withdrawn, however The New York Occasions reported Thursday that the quantity is 600. The discharge additionally didn’t present a particular timeline for the withdrawal, past stating it will “deliver the U.S. footprint in Syria right down to lower than 1,000 forces within the coming months.”

“As this consolidation takes place, in keeping with President Trump’s dedication to peace by way of energy, U.S. Central Command will stay poised to proceed strikes in opposition to the remnants of ISIS in Syria,” Parnell stated. “We will even work carefully with succesful and prepared Coalition companions to take care of strain on ISIS and reply to every other terrorist threats that come up.”

The U.S. troops have been essential not solely within the operations in opposition to the Islamic State however as a buffer for the Kurdish forces in opposition to Turkey, which considers them to be aligned with terror teams.

President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria throughout his first time period, however he met opposition from the Pentagon as a result of it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Protection Secretary Jim Mattis.

The departure of 600 troops would return drive ranges to the place they’d been for years, after the U.S. and its allies waged a multiyear marketing campaign to defeat IS. The U.S. had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to make sure that the IS militants didn’t regain a foothold, but in addition as a hedge to stop Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons throughout southern Syria.

The variety of U.S. troops was raised to greater than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, assaults by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants focused U.S. troops and pursuits within the area in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Three U.S. troops in Jordan have been killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.

In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the nation. Within the months since, Syrians displaced by greater than a decade of conflict have returned dwelling, however the nation stays unstable. Israel has focused Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the Islamic State group is making an attempt to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria stay a menace to U.S. pursuits.

The Related Press contributed to this report.