WASHINGTON – The United States is withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from , The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing three US officials.
The Pentagon earlier this month withdrew all US soldiers from the Al-Shaddadi base in northeastern Syria and from the Al Tanf garrison, a strategic outpost at the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq, according to the report.
Over the next two months, all remaining US forces will leave Syria, ending a decade-long US military presence which the White House has deemed no longer necessary in the country, two US officials told the journal.
The officials said the withdrawal was unrelated to the current massive US military buildup in the Middle East for potential strikes against Iran.
US forces were first deployed to Syria in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama in the name of combating the Islamic State amid the country’s civil war. During President Donald Trump’s first term, US troop levels in Syria were gradually reduced.