WASHINGTON: The US military is set to consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months, two US officials told Reuters, in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half.
The US military has about 2,000 US troops in Syria across a number of bases, mostly in the northeast. The troops are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back.
One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that consolidation could reduce the number of troops in Syria to about 1,000.
Another US official confirmed the plan for a reduction, but said there was no certainty on numbers and was skeptical of a decrease of that scale at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration has been negotiating with Iran and building up forces in the region.
The United States has recently sent aircraft including B-2 bombers, warships and air defense systems to reinforce the Middle East.
Trump said on Monday that he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran’s atomic facilities.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is carrying out a global review of US military troops around the world.
The Islamist-led government in Syria that took over after Bashar Assad was ousted in December has sought to rebuild Syria’s ties in the region and further afield.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US, last month signed a deal with Damascus on merging Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government.
