Khaberni - The Syrian Ministry of Defense took over the Shaddadi military base located in the northeastern part of the country, after coordination with the American forces, according to what the official Syrian news agency (SANA) reported.
A few days ago, the American forces announced the evacuation of the Al-Tanf base near the Jordanian-Iraqi border.
The United States deployed troops in Syria and Iraq as part of the international coalition it formed in 2014 to combat the Islamic State, after the organization took control of vast areas of both countries.
The defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq was announced in 2017, and in Syria in 2019.
On Thursday, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said that the American forces are still prepared to respond to threats from the Islamic State, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
The American military presence in Syria
Recently, US officials stated that they are considering a full military withdrawal from Syria, says The Wall Street Journal, while a site affiliated with the Turkish TRT channel reported that prior to the latest evacuations, there were believed to be about 1,500 American soldiers stationed in Syria.
According to media and the Jusoor Center for Studies specializing in Syrian affairs, the American forces were stationed at 22 bases, according to 2020 figures.
Among these bases:
Rmeilan Base, located in the northeast of Al-Hasakah governorate near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Rubariya Base in the far northeast of Syria near the city of Al-Malikiyah.
Al-Mabrouka Base, located west of the city of Al-Hasakah.
Tell Beydar Base, which is located northeast of the town of Ain Issa to the west of Al-Hasakah.
Qasrik Base, located on the international road "M4", which connects the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, and reaches Al-Hasakah.
Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) Base, located southwest of the city of Ain Al-Arab in Aleppo governorate.
Tell Abyad Base, named after the town in which it is located near the border with Turkey.
Shaddadi Base, situated south of Al-Hasakah.
Al-Tanf Base, located in southeastern Syria.
Tabqa Base, located to the west of the Euphrates River at the Syrian military airport in Tabqa.
With the withdrawal of American forces from Shaddadi and Al-Tanf, Washington now only has a military presence confined to the Rmeilan and Qasrik bases, both of which are located within areas controlled by the SDF, as reported by Al Jazeera news network citing its correspondent.
A report by Reuters published in June 2025 stated that the Trump administration announced its intention to reduce its military presence in Syria from multiple bases to just one base in the regions of northeastern Syria.
According to The New York Times, the number of troops could decrease from 2000 to 500 as part of the withdrawal process.
Shaddadi Base
Shaddadi Base is located on the outskirts of the town of Shaddadi in the countryside of Al-Hasakah and housed a prison, where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detained members of the Islamic State organization, before the government forces advanced to the area last month.
The importance of Shaddadi Base comes from its location, which links the governorates of Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor.
It was used in 2016 as a main site for operations of the international coalition against the Islamic State organization.
American forces within the coalition against the Islamic State were stationed at Shaddadi Base, which was within the Kurdish forces' sphere of influence in Al-Hasakah governorate.
Al-Tanf Base
Al-Tanf Base is located in the far southeast of Syria, within the Homs desert near the border triangle where Iraq, Jordan, and Syria meet.
It is also positioned near the Al-Tanf crossing on the international Damascus–Baghdad road (M2), a vital route that connects the capitals and is considered a strategic artery for trade and military movements, which grants the location geopolitical importance that exceeds its geographic size.
The importance of the base particularly emerged after 2016 when American forces stationed there as part of the international coalition to combat the Islamic State organization.
The US used the site as a training and support point for the "Revolutionary Commando Army", an opposition faction against the Syrian regime, and the base has also become a monitoring and command center in a vast desert area, with a prohibited military zone established around it with a radius of about 55 kilometers.
Al-Tanf is strategically a sensitive point in the context of regional competition, as it is seen as a node that obstructs what is known as the land corridor that Iran aims to secure through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon.
