US to Withdraw 600 Troops from Syria, Leaving Fewer than 1,000 to Help Counter ISIS Militants
The US will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the ISIS group, a US official said Thursday.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly.
The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against ISIS but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Türkiye, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups.
President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the US and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat ISIS. The US had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the ISIS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent Iranian-backed militants from trafficking weapons across southern Syria.
The number of US troops was raised to more than 2,000 after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, as Iranian-backed militants targeted US troops and interests in the region in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
Three US troops in Jordan were killed by a drone fired by an Iranian-backed militia in January 2024.
In December 2024, Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country. In the months since, Syrians displaced by more than a decade of war have returned home, but the country remains unstable. Israel has targeted Syrian weapons installations, and there are some indications that the ISIS group is trying to reconstitute itself, and Iranian-backed militias in Syria remain a threat to US interests.
The withdrawal of the 600 troops was first reported by The New York Times.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the US. Here's what to know
DAKAR, Senegal: President Donald Trump has banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns in resurrecting and expanding a hallmark policy from his first term that will mostly affect people from Africa and the Middle East. The ban announced Wednesday applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The heightened restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don't hold a valid visa. The policy takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and does not have an end date. Here's what to know about the new rules: How Trump justified the ban Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. The travel ban stems from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on 'hostile attitudes' toward the US The aim is to 'protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,' the administration said. In a video posted on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a terrorist attack Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The man charged in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. US officials say he overstayed a tourist visa. Who is exempt from the ban, Which countries are affected Trump said nationals of countries included in the ban pose 'terrorism-related' and 'public-safety' risks, as well as risks of overstaying their visas. He also said some of these countries had 'deficient' screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their citizens. His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report about tourists, businesspeople and students who overstay US visas and arrive by air or sea, singling out countries with high percentages of nationals who remain after their visas expired. 'We don't want them,' Trump said. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on special immigrant visas, who were generally the people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade war there. The list can be changed, the administration said in a document, if authorities in the designated countries make 'material improvements' to their own rules and procedures. New countries can be added 'as threats emerge around the world.' State Department guidance The State Department instructed US embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from the 12 countries listed in the ban. In a cable sent to all US diplomatic missions, the department said 'no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section' and that 'no visas issued prior to the effective date should be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.' However, visa applicants from affected countries whose applications have been approved but have not yet received their visas will be denied, according to the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting on Monday. How the ban differs from 2017's Early in Trump's first term, he issued an executive order banning travel to the US by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on flights to the US or detained at US airports after they landed. They included students and faculty, as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family. The order, often referred to as the 'Muslim ban' or the 'travel ban,' was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. That ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. Reactions to Trump's order Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro's government condemned the travel ban, characterizing it in a statement as a 'stigmatization and criminalization campaign' against Venezuelans. Chad President Mahamat Deby Itno said his country would suspend visas for US citizens in response to the ban. Aid and refugee resettlement groups also denounced it. 'This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,' said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America. But reactions to the ban ran the gamut from anger to guarded relief and support. In Haiti, radio stations received a flurry of calls Thursday from angry listeners, including many who said they were Haitians living in the US and who accused Trump of being racist, noting that the people of many of the targeted countries are Black. Haitian-American Elvanize Louis-Juste, who was at the airport Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the US are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest in their country. 'I have family in Haiti, so it's pretty upsetting to see and hear,' Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. 'I don't think it's a good thing. I think it's very upsetting.' William Lopez, a 75-year-old property investor who arrived from Cuba in 1967, supports the travel ban. 'These are people that come but don't want to work, they support the Cuban government, they support communism,' Lopez said at a restaurant near Little Havana in Miami. 'What the Trump administration is doing is perfectly good.'
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says body of Sinwar's brother found there
KHAN YOUNIS: The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Sinwar, in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. 'This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again,' said Defrin. 'We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar,' he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations — a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Defrin said the army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug in front of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, which was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. 'We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organization right in our backyard, right across our border,' Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine.
Leaders
7 hours ago
- Leaders
Israel Vows to Stop Aid Boat with Greta Thunberg Aboard
Israel on Sunday directed its military to stop a humanitarian ship carrying activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, from breaching the Gaza blockade. Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a statement ordering the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza. Katz accused Thunberg of antisemitism and labeled the activists as Hamas propaganda mouthpieces, warning them to turn back. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition's Madleen departed Italy on 1 June, aiming to deliver aid and challenge Israel's long-standing naval blockade of Gaza. Organizers reported on Saturday that the vessel had entered Egyptian waters and was nearing Gaza, where conflict has raged for 21 months. Minister Katz emphasized that Israel would not permit any breach of the naval blockade, designed to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. Madleen aid boat to Gaza Escalating Violence and Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Katz reiterated that Israel would counter any attempts to break the blockade or support terrorist groups by sea, air, or land. Meanwhile, Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday. Mahmud Bassal, the agency's spokesman, described an incident where Israeli forces opened fire on civilians near an aid distribution center in Rafah. Furthermore, the civilians were heading to a site managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group criticized by the UN for its practices and neutrality. The Israeli military stated that it fired on individuals who continued advancing despite warnings, endangering soldiers in an active combat zone. Eyewitness Abdallah Nour al-Din recounted the events, describing how hundreds gathered and the military responded with force. The health ministry in Gaza reported that the conflict's death toll has risen to 54,880, predominantly civilians, with the UN confirming these figures. As tensions escalate, the international community watches closely, urging a resolution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel remains steadfast in its blockade, emphasizing the need to prevent arms smuggling and protect its citizens from terrorist threats. Short link : Post Views: 2
