The Pentagon announced Friday that all U.S. military forces in Syria will be consolidated under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and reduced to fewer than 1,000 personnel in the coming months.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement saying the decision was directed by the Secretary of Defense and will involve relocating troops to select sites within Syria. No specific bases or areas were named.
“This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months,” Parnell said.
The consolidation follows years of operations against the Islamic State group, which lost territorial control in Syria in 2019. The United States currently carries out airstrikes in Syria targeting Islamic State militants and has maintained troops in coordination with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Parnell stated that U.S. Central Command will continue operations against Islamic State remnants and will coordinate with coalition partners in the region. He added that the U.S. remains committed to pressuring terrorist groups and called on other countries to repatriate nationals detained in northeast Syria due to suspected Islamic State ties.
No timeline for the consolidation or base closures was provided in the statement. However, SOFX, citing Ynet reported earlier this week that U.S. officials briefed Israeli counterparts on plans to begin withdrawing forces from Syria within two months. According to the report, Israeli officials attempted to delay the decision but were unsuccessful.
Additional footage and reports cited by Türkiye Today indicated that U.S. military convoys have already begun transporting equipment from southern Hasakah province toward the Iraqi border at al-Yarubiyah. These movements are believed to be part of early-stage withdrawal or repositioning activity.
US military convoy moves towards the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province in western Iraq. pic.twitter.com/8vG7s19nuN
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As of late 2024, the Pentagon acknowledged that the U.S. had approximately 2,000 troops in Syria, following a period of increased deployments earlier that year. Prior to that, official figures had long remained around 900.
No information was provided about the impact of the consolidation on U.S. operations in neighboring Iraq, where around 2,500 American troops remain.
The U.S. and Iraqi governments previously announced plans to conclude the international coalition’s military mission in federal Iraq by the end of 2025, and in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region by September 2026.
