Syrian army takes over al-Tanf base after US exit

Syrian government forces have taken control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by US troops as part of the war against the Islamic State group, the Defence Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

The al-Tanf base sits in a strategic location, close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq. In a terse statement, the Syrian Defence Ministry said the handover of the base took place in coordination with the US military, and Syrian forces are now "securing the base and its perimeters."

The US military did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press regarding the Syrian statement.

The Syrian Defence Ministry also said that Syrian troops are now in place in the desert area around the al-Tanf garrison, with border guards to deploy in the coming days.

The United States on Thursday confirmed its forces have departed the base.

"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 group, saying that maintaining pressure on the militants "is essential to protecting the US homeland and strengthening regional security."

The deployment of Syrian troops at al-Tanf and in the surrounding areas comes after last month's deal between the government and the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to merge into the military.

Al-Tanf garrison was repeatedly attacked over the past years with drones by Iran-backed militias, but such attacks have dropped sharply following the fall of Bashar Assad's government in Syria in December 2024, when insurgent groups marched into his seat of power in Damascus.

Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been expanding his control of the country, and last month, government forces captured wide parts of northeast Syria after deadly clashes with the SDF. A ceasefire was later reached between the two sides.

Al-Tanf base played a major role in the fight against the Islamic State group that declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later.

Over the past weeks, the US military began transferring thousands of IS prisoners from prisons run by the SDF in northeastern Syria to Iraq, where they will be prosecuted.

The number of US troops posted in Syria has changed over the years.

The number of US troops increased to more than 2,000 after October 2023, as Iranian-backed militias targeted American troops and interests in the region in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

The force has since been reduced to around 900.