The latest American soldiers stationed in Syria left the Qasrak base in the Hassakeh province on Thursday, ending a ten-year military presence in the country to combat the Islamic State group.
These soldiers were redeployed to Jordan on the other side of the border to ensure the safety of personnel and avoid potential attacks from pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, according to Charles Lister, a recognized expert on Syria, as reported by Middle East Eye.
The US Central Command (Centcom) stated to AFP that American forces “had completed the transfer of all their main bases in Syria as part of a deliberate and conditional transition.”
“The Syrian state is fully capable of fighting terrorism within its territory in cooperation with the international community,” said the Syrian Foreign Ministry in response to taking control of military bases previously occupied by American forces.
Control of the Qasrak base was taken over by the 60th division of the Syrian army, mainly composed of Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a long-time US partner force.
Qasrak, considered a strategic American base in northeastern Syria, had served as a logistics center for convoys and military equipment in recent months. American troops began withdrawing from the Qasrak base at the end of February, initiating their complete withdrawal from Syria within a month, marking a turning point after years of leading the fight against jihadists in the country.
This announcement of the departure of American forces came as the United States was massing military capabilities around Iran before the war that began on February 28 with Israel.
