WASHINGTON, United States, Feb 13, (V7N): The United States on Thursday confirmed that its forces have departed Al-Tanf in Syria, as Damascus announced that its troops have taken control of the strategic base near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

“The orderly departure of US forces from al-Tanf” was completed the previous day, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement.

The command described the move as “part of a deliberate and conditions-based transition.”

CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper said US forces remain prepared to counter threats from the Islamic State (IS) group, stressing that maintaining pressure on the militants “is essential to protecting the US homeland and strengthening regional security.”

Syria’s defense ministry said its army units have taken control of Al-Tanf and begun deploying along the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border.

During the Syrian civil war and the campaign against IS, US forces were stationed in the country’s Kurdish-controlled northeast, as well as at Al-Tanf. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) served as a key partner of the US-led international coalition against IS and played a central role in the group’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019.

However, following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad more than a year ago, Washington has moved closer to the new government in Damascus, recently indicating that the need for its alliance with Kurdish forces had largely diminished.

Syria joined the anti-IS coalition after President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House in November.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, US troops are now primarily based at the Qasrak base in Hasakeh following the withdrawal and Syrian government advances in the northeast.

Despite IS’s territorial defeat, the group remains active. It was blamed for a December attack in Palmyra in which a lone gunman opened fire on American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian.

Washington has since carried out retaliatory strikes on IS targets in Syria, with CENTCOM saying it has killed or captured more than 50 IS militants over the past two months.

END/WD/RH