WASHINGTON — The US military will consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell says.
The US military has about 2,000 US troops in Syria across a number of bases, mostly in the northeast. The troops are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back.
“This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand US forces in the coming months,” Parnell says in a statement.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the consolidation under a Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve — to select locations in Syria.
Parnell says US Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against what is left of ISIS in Syria and work with coalition partners to keep pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats.
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