7 days ago
US leaves Syrian base where American troops fought Wagner mercenaries
U.S. troops have withdrawn from the outpost in Syria where a handful of American special operators and Marines fought off an assault by Russian mercenaries in 2018, a battle in which the American troops left a force 10 times their size scattered across the desert battlefield.
The end of the U.S. presence at Mission Support Site Euphrates came as part of a wider drawdown in Syria in May, with American troops withdrawing from multiple bases used in the fight against ISIS, according to a new quarterly report from the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General on Operation Inherent Resolve.
Mission Support Site Euphrates is an outpost on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in Khasham, Deir ez-Zor province. In 2018, a small group of U.S. troops and Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, were at the base, along a line of demarcation along the Euphrates River meant to help avoid conflict with Russian military elements backing the Assad regime. But in February 2018, the outpost was attacked by a force of roughly 500 pro-regime forces. That included members of the Russian mercenary firm the Wagner Group.
What ensued over the subsequent hours came to be known as the Battle of Khasham, or Battle of the Conoco Fields. U.S. Army Green Berets and Delta Force soldiers, Air Force Combat Controllers and Marines held the outpost as American war planes and helicopters poured bombs and rockets onto the Russian and Syrian troops.
The Department of Defense — as well as the Wagner Group and the now-deposed Assad regime — have been historically tight-lipped about the events of the battle in the years since, although some details have come out. One of the most revealing reports came from the citation for an Air Force Cross given in 2020 to an Air Force combat controller who participated in the fight. On Feb. 7, 2018, 'a professionally trained and technically proficient combined arms enemy assault comprised of main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery tubes and a battalion of infantry soldiers' advanced across the river and attacked the outpost. Roughly 30 American special operations forces were there with Kurdish SDF fighters.
When Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers at the outpost came under attack, a platoon-sized force of Marines and Green Berets were about 20 miles away and began making their way toward the fight. But it took them far longer to get to the outpost than they imagined, in part due to poor visibility and damaged roads. Meanwhile, the combat controller called in air support, which arrived in force, with several fighter jets, drones, helicopters and AC-130 gunships pummeling the assaulting enemy. No Americans were harmed and several hundred attackers were killed. Leaked audio recordings from the Wagner Group painted a blunt picture of the battle.
'To make it short, we've had our fucking asses kicked,' one Wagner mercenary was recorded saying.
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The United States military is currently in the process of reducing its presence in Syria down from roughly 2,000 troops to 1,000. According to the report on the progress of Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. forces either dismantled and closed the bases or handed them over to the SDF. It's unclear if Mission Support Site Euphrates was closed or handed over. American troops remain active in Deir ez-Zor, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a nonprofit monitoring group, reporting frequent exercises with SDF forces in the region in recent weeks.
The Deir ez-Zor base has been a frequent target of militants since the Battle of Khasham, taking small mortar and rocket fire from pro-Assad groups over the years. CENTCOM reported in late 2024 that it had been attacked several dozen times since October 2023.
American forces have remained focused on ISIS in Syria in recent years, even as the Assad regime was toppled by rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024 after more than a decade of civil war. The U.S. did take advantage of the collapse of the Assad regime to launch major airstrikes on ISIS in central Syria that month. The U.S. has maintained a presence in the northeast of Syria, which is largely under SDF control.
Despite the drawdown, U.S. troops remain active in Syria, carrying out operations against ISIS in the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has tracked several raids against militants, including ones that killed a senior ISIS leader in Aleppo. According to the report, the troop reduction in the country is not the end of Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria.
'U.S. forces will work closely to ensure partner forces sustain their abilities to maintain pressure on ISIS and deny it the ability to find safe havens or regain strength,' it notes.
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