Syria says that its forces took control of the Al-Tanf base after handing it over from the United States
Damascus, Syria– Damascus, Syria (AFP) – Syrian The Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that government forces took control of a base in the east of the country that had been run by American forces for years as part of the war against ISIS.
Al-Tanf base is located in a strategic location near the borders with Jordan and Iraq. The Syrian Ministry of Defense said, in a brief statement, that the handover of the base took place in coordination with the US Army, and that the Syrian forces are now “securing the base and its surroundings.”
The US military did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press regarding the Syrian statement.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense also said that Syrian forces are now deployed in the desert area around the Al-Tanf garrison, with border guards to be deployed in the coming days.
The deployment of Syrian forces in Al-Tanf and its surrounding areas comes after an agreement last month between the government and the US-backed and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian Democratic ForcesOr the Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate into the army.
The Al-Tanf garrison has been subjected to repeated attacks over the past years by drones Iran-backed groups But such attacks declined sharply after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria in December 2024 when rebel groups stormed his seat of power in Damascus.
Interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is working to expand his control over the country, and last month government forces took control of large parts of northeastern Syria after bloody clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces. A ceasefire was later reached between the two sides.
The Al-Tanf base played a major role in the fight against ISIS, which declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014. ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later.
During the past weeks, the US Army began transfer operations Thousands of ISIS prisoners From prisons run by the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria to Iraq, where they will be tried.
number American forces deployed in Syria It has changed over the years.
The number of US troops rose to more than 2,000 after a Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, as Iranian-backed militants targeted US forces and interests in the region in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
The force has since been reduced to about 900.
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Associated Press journalist Basem Marwa in Beirut contributed to this report.
