US forces begin withdrawing from key base in Syria

DAMASCUS

U.S. forces that led the anti-ISIL coalition in Syria started leaving a major base in the northeast on Feb. 23 and should complete their withdrawal from the country within a month, according to sources.

The move comes after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), long backed by Washington in the fight against the ISIL terrorist organization, ceded territory to Damascus and agreed to integrate into the state.

American forces have already withdrawn from two other bases in the past two weeks, Al-Tanf in the southeast and Shadadi in the northeast.

"Within a month, they will have withdrawn from Syria and there will no longer be any military presence in the bases," a Syrian government official said, with another source confirming the timeline.

A third source, a diplomat, said the withdrawal should be completed within 20 days.

The United States has about 1,000 troops still deployed in Syria. It began withdrawing on Feb. 23 from the Qasrak base in the northeast, which is still under the SDF control.

An AFP team saw a convoy of dozens of trucks, loaded with armored vehicles and prefabricated structures, on a road linking the Qasrak base in Hasakeh province to the border with Iraq.

Syria's government recently extended its control to the northeast of the country.

Washington has drawn close to Syria's new authorities since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

[HH] Syria closes notorious ISIL-linked camp

The developments came after Syrian authorities closed al-Hol camp, which long housed relatives of suspected ISIL fighters, after emptying the formerly SDF-controlled facility.

"All Syrian and non-Syrian families were relocated," Fadi al-Qassem, the official appointed by the government to manage al-Hol's affairs said.

Al-Hol, located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, had been Syria's largest camp housing relatives of suspected ISIL fighters.

Last month, the government took over the camp from its SDF-controlled administrators, as its forces ceded territory and Damascus extended its control across swathes of Syria's northeast.

Since then, thousands of family members of foreign jihadists have left for unknown destinations.

The facility had housed some 24,000 people, mostly Syrians but also Iraqis and more than 6,000 other foreigners of around 40 nationalities.

Qassem said security forces were searching the tents for any remaining families.

Earlier this week, authorities had started evacuating the remaining residents, taking them to a camp in Akhtarin, in the north of Aleppo province.

Some of the families were taken elsewhere, Qassem said, without specifying the location.

Last week, the U.S. military said it had completed the transfer of thousands of ISIL suspects, including many Syrians but also Westerners, to Iraq.