US troops evacuate al-Tanf military base in Syria

DAMASCUS/AMMAN — US forces have evacuated the al-Tanf military base in eastern Syria and relocated troops stationed there to Jordan, two sources aware of the matter said on Wednesday. 

The al-Tanf base is strategically located in the tri-border area of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. It was established in 2014 as a key hub for operations by the global coalition against Islamic State militants.

Convoys of military equipment and personnel crossed the border into Jordan, bringing an end to a decade-long American presence at the sensitive tri-border junction between Syria, Jordan, and Iraq.

Located within a 55-kilometer "deconfliction zone," the base allowed the US to monitor Iranian-backed overland supply routes and provide training to the Syrian Free Army (now part of the 70th Division).

Its evacuation marks the loss of a major Western foothold in the Syrian desert, a position that for years acted as a buffer against regional proxy influence.

Redeployment and the new Syrian reality

Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and military sources indicate that the withdrawal was not a sudden decision but a 15-day logistical operation. 

The departing troops have reportedly relocated to Tower 22, a US facility on the Jordanian side of the border, where they will continue to coordinate regional security.

The vacuum left by the coalition was filled almost immediately. Units of the Syrian Army, representing the post-Assad government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, have moved into the vacated garrison. This transition follows a recent warming of relations between Washington and the new Damascus administration, which officially joined the anti-ISIS coalition in late 2025.

Several factors converged to make the Al-Tanf base increasingly untenable and strategically redundant. Following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime over a year ago, the primary political justification for maintaining an independent "55-km zone" has faded.

The US has recently pivoted toward supporting the central government in Damascus, leading to a decreased reliance on Kurdish-led forces (SDF) and local desert militias.