The U.S. will withdraw roughly 600 troops from Syria, reducing its military presence to fewer than 1,000, a Washington official said Thursday.
The remaining forces will continue working to contain the Daesh group, the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public, said the drawdown has not been formally announced.
American forces have played a dual role in the region: aiding in operations against the Daesh group and serving as a buffer between Türkiye and the PKK terrorist group.
During his first term, President Donald Trump attempted a full withdrawal from Syria – a move that drew sharp opposition from the Pentagon and led to the resignation of then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who warned it would abandon key allies and destabilize efforts to defeat the Daesh group.
The upcoming departure will return U.S. troop levels to where they stood for years following a multiyear campaign against the terrorist group.
Until now, the U.S. had maintained about 900 troops in Syria, both to prevent a resurgence of Daesh terrorists and to limit Iranian-backed groups from moving weapons across southern Syria.
The number of U.S. troops surged to more than 2,000 following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel, as Iranian-backed groups such as Hezbollah launched strikes on U.S. forces and interests in retaliation for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
In one such attack, three U.S. service members were killed by a drone strike in Jordan in January 2024, launched by an Iranian-backed group.
In December 2024, Syrian regime dictator Bashar Assad fled the country.
Since then, some Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have begun to return, though the nation remains unstable.
Israel has continued to target Syrian weapons facilities, while Daesh members appear to be regrouping.
The planned withdrawal was first reported by The New York Times.
