U.S. forces have evacuated the al-Tanf base in eastern Syria and are moving personnel to neighboring Jordan, according to a statement from the Syrian Defense Ministry.
The redeployment marks a significant shift in America’s military posture in Syria, where U.S. troops have maintained a substantial presence for more than a decade. Al-Tanf has long been recognized as a strategic outpost near the tri-border area of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan — a location critical for monitoring terrorist activity and tracking regional power dynamics.
Established in 2014 by the U.S.-led coalition to combat Islamic State militants, al-Tanf was handed over to the Syrian Arab Army “through coordination between the Syrian and American sides.” The New Arab reported that military convoys have been observed moving personnel and equipment from al-Tanf toward Jordan over the past 15 days:
During the Syrian civil war and the fight against the Islamic State (IS), US forces were deployed in the country’s Kurdish-controlled northeast and at Al-Tanf, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been a major partner of the anti-IS coalition, and were instrumental in the group’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019.
However, after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad over a year ago, the United States has drawn closer to the new government in Damascus, recently declaring that the need for its alliance with the Kurds had largely passed.
Syria agreed to join the anti-IS coalition when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House in November.
The relocation is part of a broader U.S. drawdown in Syria, where American troops and coalition partners have steadily reduced their presence.
Over the past year, Washington has reduced troop levels and closed several installations. In northeastern Syria, the base at al-Shaddadi has seen personnel withdrawals and equipment repositioning, fueling additional speculation.
Although ISIS lost its territorial caliphate in 2019, the group remains active. U.S. forces carried out large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS positions in December and January following an attack near Palmyra that killed two U.S. service members and a civilian interpreter working with the U.S. military.
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The US must not abandon the Kurds. They have been one of the most abused and betrayed people in the Mid East. They have been targeted by Turkey, Iran,Iraq,Syria,ISIS and others. They have been an allie of most of the west. If they are abandoned by the west then the Wests credibility will be compromised.