Pentagon says U.S. reducing troops levels in Syria as situation evolves on ground

The Defense Department is reducing its military footprint in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a consolidation of forces that reflects a changing security landscape in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

The U.S. has about 2,000 troops in Syria operating from several bases, mostly in the northeast. They work alongside local forces to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, which controlled about a third of Syria and 40% of Iraq at its peak in late 2014.

The Defense Department said the U.S. presence in Syria will shrink to fewer than 1,000 military personnel under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. Pentagon officials said the move is a recognition of the significant progress the military has made in the region.

“During the last 10 years, the global coalition to defeat ISIS has made major gains, including those which led to the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Friday in a statement. “Additionally, U.S. Central Command has launched dozens of air strikes over the last year to further degrade ISIS’ capabilities and deny them the ability to regain strength.”

The region is still reeling from the government takeover in Syria by fighters from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, commonly known as HTS. The group is a coalition of northern Syria-based Sunni Islamist insurgent groups that evolved from al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria.

U.S. Central Command is poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria even after the consolidation of U.S. military personnel.

“We will also work closely with capable and willing coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise,” Mr. Parnell said. “The threat of terrorism is not confined to the Middle East, and we will be vigilant across every continent to ensure that ISIS has nowhere to hide.”

The Trump administration is calling on the international community to repatriate its citizens who were displaced by ISIS to camps and detention facilities in northern Syria.

“The Department of Defense continues to maintain a significant account of capability in the region and the ability to make dynamic force posture developments based on evolving security situations on the ground,” Mr. Parnell said.