The United States will cut its presence in Syria by half in the coming months, the Department of Defense announced on Friday.
The U.S. military will bring the number of troops inside Syria to under 1,000 in the coming months in a “consolidation” effort, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on April 18. The move comes after “significant steps” made in the fight against ISIS.
For several months the Pentagon had said that there were only approximately 900 U.S. troops inside Syria. In December, the Defense Department revealed that the actual military presence was closer to 2,000 troops in the country, with another 2,500 in neighboring Iraq. The Pentagon did not specify which units will be the first to leave Syria.
“[…]U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria,” Parnell said. “We will also work closely with capable and willing Coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise.
American forces have been in Syria since late 2015, as part of the fight against ISIS. At its peak, the terrorist group controlled large portions of Iraq and Syria. In Syria, it seized much of its territory in part due to the chaos of the then-ongoing civil war. Much of the American involvement in the initial anti-ISIS fight involved aerial bombardments on ISIS positions, in support of Syrian Democratic Forces ground troops, although special operations forces were also active on the ground. The last ISIS stronghold in the country, in Baghouz, fell in 2019.
Since the fall of Raqqa, U.S. troops have maintained a presence in both Iraq and Syria, working with local partners hunting after remaining ISIS fighters and patrolling the areas. In 2018, U.S. troops at an outpost in Khasham near Deir-ez-Zor engaged Russian mercenaries and Syrian troops under the Assad regime, leading to a massive firefight. American forces called in extensive air support, allowing the outnumbered U.S. troops to win. One Air Force Combat Controller was later awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions.
American forces operate a base in southeastern Syria at al-Tanf, near the Iraqi border.
When Assad’s regime fell in December 2024, American forces carried out a series of large airstrikes in eastern and central Syria, targeting ISIS camps.
In an interview with Reuters in March, rebel leader-turned-President of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa said that his government had been in indirect talks with the Trump administration, via intermediaries. It is not clear if those talks influenced the announced drawdown.
The reduction of troops inside Syria comes as the United States continues to build up wider military presence in the region. Since the renewal of fighting with the Houthi movement in Yemen, the United States has moved an additional carrier strike group, Patriot missile batteries and more aircraft into the CENTCOM area of responsibility.