U.S. withdraws from Syrian base

U.S. troops pulled out of a Syrian base Wednesday, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command.

The al-Tanf Garrison is located in southern Syria near the Iraqi border. It was established in 2014 as a global hub to combat the Islamic State group by disrupting its supply lines and was home to about 200 U.S. troops. Last April, the Department of Defense announced it would consolidate locations in Syria after the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in 2019.

The withdrawal came as a surprise to Syrian troops, according to a spokesperson from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. U.S. forces departed in orderly fashion and continue to remain ready to respond to threats from the Islamic State group, CENTCOM officials said.

What sparked the withdrawal? Relations between Syria and the United States soured during the Syrian Civil War, when a suspected Syrian chemical weapons attack prompted then-President Barack Obama to seek congressional approval of a U.S. military strike in Syria. The congressional vote never occurred because the United States and Russia reached a diplomatic agreement for Syria to dispose of its chemical weapons.

Late last year, the Syrian government agreed to join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, signaling easing tensions and greater preparedness to defend the region, according to Tom Barrack, a U.S. special envoy to Syria.

The region surrounding the base included Highway 2M, a major route connecting Syria and Lebanon. The United States will no longer defend this security zone, which could provide an opening for Iranian attempts to destabilize the region, according to a statement from the Israel Alma thinktank.

Who controls the base? U.S. forces handed the keys to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Formerly a U.S.-designated global terrorist, al-Sharaa was frontman of the al-Nusra Sunni Islamist organization. Under his leadership, al-Nusra became one of Syria’s most powerful rebel groups, committing suicide bombings, forced conversions, and widespread massacres of Christians and other religious minorities.

Since becoming president in 2025, al-Sharaa has negotiated lighter sanctions from the European Union, the United Nations, and the United States.

Dig deeper: Read this report from A. S. Ibrahim on the plight of Christians in Syria.