The Syrian government forces Thursday assumed control of a base formerly run for years by U.S. troops as part of the war against the Daesh terrorist group, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
The al-Tanf base in eastern Syria is strategically located, close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq. In a terse statement, the Syrian Defense Ministry said the handover of the base took place in coordination with the U.S. military and Syrian forces are now "securing the base and its perimeters."
The U.S. military did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press regarding the Syrian statement.
The Syrian Defense 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 deployment of Syrian troops at al-Tanf and in the surrounding areas comes after last month's deal between the government and the U.S.-backed terrorist group PKK/YPG to merge into the military.
Al-Tanf garrison was repeatedly attacked over the past years with drones by Iran-backed groups but such attacks have dropped sharply following the fall of Bashar Assad in December 2024, when an anti-regime alliance took control of the capital, Damascus.
Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been consolidating government control of the country and last month its forces captured wide parts of northeast Syria after deadly clashes with the PKK/YPG. A cease-fire was later reached between the two sides.
Al-Tanf base played a major role in the fight against Daesh, which captured large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later.
Over the past weeks, the U.S. military began transferring thousands of Daesh prisoners from prisons run by the SDF in northeastern Syria to Iraq, where they will be prosecuted.
The number of U.S. troops posted in Syria has changed over the years.
The number of U.S. troops increased to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas incursion of southern Israel, as Iranian-backed groups targeted American troops and interests in the region in response to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
The force has since been drawn back down to around 900.
