Shafaq News- Washington/ Damascus
US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday confirmed the withdrawal of American forces from the Al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria, ending years of presence at the Syria–Iraq–Jordan tri-border site.
In a statement, CENTCOM said the departure, completed on February 11, followed a “deliberate and conditions-based transition” under Combined Joint Task Force– Operation Inherent Resolve. The Pentagon announced in April 2025 plans to consolidate US deployments in Syria after ISIS’s territorial defeat in 2019.
“US forces remain poised to respond to any ISIS threats that arise in the region,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said, adding that recent operations included more than 100 strikes and the capture or killing of over 50 ISIS militants in the past two months.
Earlier today, Syria’s Defense Ministry said government forces had taken control of Al-Tanf following the US-led Coalition’s withdrawal. The outpost had operated within a 55-kilometer security zone established to restrict former president Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and allied units.
The Coalition also vacated the Al-Shaddadi base in Hasakah province, along with the Kharab Al-Jir and Qasrak sites, as part of a broader drawdown in northeastern Syria. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump’s administration was weighing options to scale back or fully withdraw US troops from Syria following close encounters between Syrian government forces and US positions during operations involving the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).