The United States is withdrawing all of its remaining troops from Syria over the next two months, ending a roughly 10-year military presence in the war-torn country, multiple U.S. officials told news outlets on Thursday.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. military which has been stationed in Syria since 2015 as part of the global campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) and to support local partner forces will pull out all approximately 1,000 remaining troops within about eight weeks.
The withdrawal plan follows recent actions that saw U.S. forces leave strategic bases such as al-Tanf near the Jordan–Iraq border and al-Shaddadi in northeastern Syria, with those facilities handed over to Syrian government or allied forces earlier in February.
A senior U.S. official described the withdrawal as a “deliberate and conditions-based transition” rather than an abrupt exit, saying American troops will remain ready to respond to any resurgence of ISIS or emerging threats even after the full drawdown.
The pullout coincides with major changes on the ground: the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces long a key U.S. partner in the fight against ISIS have agreed to integrate into the Syrian state after shifts in control following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The U.S. presence in Syria has been a central component of counter-terrorism efforts and regional strategy throughout multiple administrations, and its reduction marks a significant shift in U.S. military engagement in the Middle East.
