NYT: The US closes three military bases and partially withdraws troops from Syria

The United States is closing three of its eight operational bases in northeastern Syria, while the number of American troops deployed in the country will be reduced from 2 000 to 1 400.

This is reported by The New York Times, citing two senior US officials.

Mission Support Site Green Village, MSS Euphrates, and a third, much smaller facility — the newspaper does not specify its name — are being closed. In 60 days, American commanders will assess whether additional reductions are necessary.

Military experts have recommended keeping at least 500 American troops in Syria, but US President Donald Trump has “expressed deep skepticism” about keeping any American troops in the country, the newspaper said. The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has reduced the number of threats in Syria “at least for now”.

The US presidential administration is expected to review its policy on Syria, and some officials believe that the number of American troops could be reduced by more than half, or they will be withdrawn completely.

The New York Timesʼ interlocutors noted that the US military in Syria, although reduced in number, will continue to support the Kurdish- led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their fight against terrorism, including Islamic State militants.

The United States also hopes that the new Syrian government will become a partner against the Islamic State. According to American officials, the first steps of cooperation have been positive: the Syrian government acted on US intelligence to prevent eight IS plots in Damascus.

• The US has deployed about 900 troops to Syria to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State militants and to prevent arms trafficking through southern Syria by Iranian-backed militants. However, the number of US troops in the region was increased to 2 000 after Hamas militants attacked Israel in October 2023, after Iranian-backed militants fired on US forces in the region in response to Israelʼs bombing of the Gaza Strip.

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