The last remaining US troops in Syria have left their base in Hasakah, ending their 10-year presence in the country aimed at fighting the "Islamic State" group. This was reported by Middle East Eye.
After the withdrawal of US forces, the Syrian military entered the last base that was previously under US control. Charles Lister, a Syria expert, said that the forces that took over the base were the 60th Division of the Syrian army, made up mainly of Kurdish fighters affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a long-time US partner. The US troops left Syria via Jordan, along with their equipment, to avoid possible attacks by Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the completion of the handover of military sites previously occupied by US forces in Syria to the Syrian government. It said the handover of the military bases also reflected the successful integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into national structures and the Syrian state assuming full responsibility for combating terrorism and addressing regional threats on its territory.
The US decision to withdraw follows the ouster of Bashar al-Assad after more than a decade of civil war. Washington, which supports the new al-Sharaa government, previously had about 1,000 US troops in Syria. US troops have been in Syria since 2015.
The US-SDF partnership has strained Turkey's relations with Washington, as Ankara views the group as an extension of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is designated a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Turkey and has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for four decades.