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U.S. Begins Major Troop Reduction in Syria

Pentagon initiates conditions-based drawdown to cut forces from 2,000 to under 1,000 while maintaining counter-ISIS operations.

A soldier from the US-led coalition holds the hand of a boy during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo
U.S. military vehicles are parked near al-Tanf garrison, Syria, during an exercise in 2023. Photo: Terry Vongsouthi/DVIDS
US forces patrol near Syria's northeastern border with Turkey on September 3, 2024
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Overview

  • The U.S. military is reducing its troop presence in Syria by about half, targeting fewer than 1,000 personnel in the coming months.
  • Three of eight small outposts in northeastern Syria are being closed as part of the consolidation, withdrawing approximately 600 troops.
  • The reduction follows a December 2024 disclosure that U.S. forces in Syria had doubled to around 2,000 earlier in the year.
  • The Pentagon emphasizes that counterterrorism operations against ISIS will continue, with U.S. Central Command poised for strikes on remaining cells.
  • This drawdown reflects a shift in strategy after the 2019 territorial defeat of ISIS and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.