US to Cut Troop Numbers in Syria to Below 1,000 Soon

The United States will reduce its military presence in Syria to fewer than 1,000 troops in the coming months, the Pentagon announced on Friday—marking a significant shift in its longstanding campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Washington has maintained troops in Syria for years as part of international efforts to defeat IS, which emerged during the country’s civil war and once controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq. Though the group has been territorially defeated, it still poses a threat through sporadic attacks.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement, “The Secretary of Defense has ordered the consolidation of US forces in Syria to select locations. This process, which is deliberate and based on conditions, will reduce our footprint to fewer than 1,000 personnel in the coming months.”

He added that despite the drawdown, the US Central Command will remain ready to conduct operations against IS remnants.

Former President Donald Trump has long questioned the US role in Syria. During his earlier term, he ordered troop withdrawals but left a residual presence. After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in late 2024 by Islamist-led rebel forces, Trump again reiterated Washington should steer clear of the conflict.

“Syria is a mess, but not our friend,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight.”

The US initially launched airstrikes in 2014, supporting Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iraqi forces in their fight against IS. Thousands of American troops were deployed to advise and assist local partners, occasionally engaging directly in combat.

IS’s territorial defeat was declared in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. However, IS fighters continue to operate in rural areas, prompting regular US-led strikes to prevent their resurgence.

The US presence in Syria came under further pressure following the October 2023 Gaza war, which led to repeated attacks by Iran-backed militias on US troops in Iraq and Syria. In response, the US launched several retaliatory strikes.

The Pentagon disclosed in December 2024 that US troop levels in Syria had doubled to about 2,000 earlier that year.

While drawing down in Syria, the US is also preparing to end its coalition mission in Iraq. Washington and Baghdad have agreed that the international military presence will conclude in federal Iraq by the end of 2025 and in the Kurdistan region by September 2026.