Syria’s defence ministry says its forces have taken management of the strategic base amid coordination with the US.
Printed On 12 Feb 2026
Syrian forces have taken management of the strategic al-Tanf navy base close to the border with Iraq and Jordan, the Syrian defence ministry has mentioned, amid the withdrawal of a longstanding United States troop presence on the base.
The ministry mentioned in a press release on Thursday that Syrian Arab Military models had taken management of al-Tanf, securing the bottom and its environment, “by coordination between the Syrian and American sides”.
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Military models had “begun deploying alongside the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian” border close by, the ministry mentioned, whereas border guards could be deployed within the coming days.
The bottom was established throughout Syria’s civil battle in 2014 as a key hub for operations by the worldwide coalition towards ISIL (ISIS), which on the time managed massive areas of Syria and Iraq till the group was vanquished in 2017.
The US withdrawal from the bottom comes months after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the previous chief of the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who the US as soon as deemed a “Specifically Designated International Terrorist”, joined the anti-ISIL coalition in November.
The US navy has not formally commented on the pullout, however Trump has expressed an curiosity in withdrawing US troops from Syria since his first time period.
Syrian authorities expands management
The pullout additionally follows a US-brokered deal to combine the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces – a key US associate within the struggle towards ISIL – into Syrian authorities establishments, an settlement the US hailed as a serious step in direction of nationwide unity and reconciliation in Syria.
Final month, as al-Sharaa’s authorities pushed to expand its management over the nation, Syrian authorities forces captured massive areas of beforehand Kurdish-held territory in northeast Syria, amid lethal clashes with the SDF.
A ceasefire was later struck between the perimeters.
Amid the advance of Syrian forces, the US navy has been transferring 1000’s of ISIL prisoners from jails beforehand run by the SDF in northeastern Syria, because the services have been transferred to Syrian authorities management.
US drawdown
Whereas the dimensions of the US deployment in Syria has fluctuated through the years, with exact figures usually unclear as a result of categorized nature of many operations, a Pentagon announcement in July 2025 mentioned there have been about 1,500 American troopers in Syria.
The scale of the deployment at present stands at 900, The Related Press reported.
Earlier this month, an Al Jazeera correspondent on the bottom reported that US navy personnel seemed to be drawing down their presence from watchtowers surrounding a navy set up within the al-Shaddadi space in northeastern Hasakah province.
Troopers have been additionally seen decreasing the US flag from one tower, whereas gear used to handle plane takeoffs and landings on the base’s airstrip was now not seen.
The US carried out a spherical of “large-scale” attacks against ISIL in Syria in January following an ambush that killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter within the metropolis of Palmyra in December.
