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.
