The Syrian government army has taken over a base in the east of the country that was operated by the US military to combat the Islamic State (ISIS), the country's Defense Ministry announced today.
The Al-Tanf base is located in a strategically important location, close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq.
In a brief statement, the Ministry of Defense stated that the handover of the base was carried out in coordination with the US military.
The statement added that Syrian soldiers are now deployed in the desert area around the Al-Tanf garrison, and they will be deployed to the borders in the coming days.
The deployment of government troops in Al-Tanf and surrounding areas comes after an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a paramilitary unit supported by the United States (US) and led by the Kurds, to merge with the army.
The Al-Tanf garrison was repeatedly attacked by drones by Iranian-backed groups until former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power in December 2024.
Al-Tanf base played a major role in the fight against ISIS, which declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iran in 2014.
The US military has, in the past few weeks, begun transferring thousands of ISIS prisoners from SDF-run prisons in northeastern Syria to Iraq, where they will be prosecuted.
Washington increased the number of its troops in Syria to more than 2.000 after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and that number has now been reduced to around 900.
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