QAMISHLI: US forces that led a coalition against ISIS in Syria started leaving a major base in the northeast on Monday and should complete their withdrawal from the country within a month, sources told AFP.
The move comes after Kurdish forces, long backed by Washington in the fight against the ISIS group, 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American forces have already withdrawn from two other bases in the past two weeks, Al-Tanf in the southeast and Shadadi in the northeast.
"Within a month, they will have withdrawn from Syria and there will no longer be any military presence in the bases," a Syrian government official said, with a Kurdish source confirming the timeline.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 Monday from the Qasrak base in the northeast, which is still under the control of Kurdish forces, a Kurdish official who requested anonymity told AFP.
An AFP team saw a convoy of dozens of trucks, loaded with armoured 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 into the country's northeast.
Washington has drawn close to Syria's new authorities since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
.jpg)