US to pull 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to fight IS

The US will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the Islamic State group, a US official said Thursday.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly.

The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the Islamic State but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Turkey, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups.

President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the US and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat IS. The US had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the IS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria.

The number of US troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted US troops and interests in the region in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

Three US troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.

In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country. In the months since, Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have returned home, but the country remains unstable. Israel has targeted Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the Islamic State group is trying to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria remain a threat to US interests.

The withdrawal of the 600 troops was first reported by The New York Times.