United States intervention in Syria

Leaked United States diplomatic cables have been seen as showing that regime change in Syria may have been a covert foreign policy goal of the US government in the years leading up to the civil war, even during the period when President Barack Obama was publicly engaging with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. A 2006 memorandum by US diplomat William Roebuck of the embassy in Damascus stated:We believe Bashar's weaknesses are in how he chooses to react to looming issues, both perceived and real, such as...the potential threat to the regime from the increasing presence of transiting Islamist extremists. This cable summarizes our assessment of these vulnerabilities and suggests that there may be actions, statements and signals that the USG can send that will improve the likelihood of such opportunities arising. These proposals will need to be fleshed out and converted into real actions and we need to be ready to move quickly to take advantage of such opportunities. Many of our suggestions underline using Public Diplomacy and more indirect means to send messages that influence the inner circle.According to Seymour Hersh and activist Robert Naiman, Roebuck, who went on to be charge d'affairs of the Libyan embassy under Obama, also considered the advantages of promoting religious sectarianism in Syria. Shortly after the civil war broke out in 2011, the US initially supplied the rebels of the Free Syrian Army with non-lethal aid (e.g., food rations and pickup trucks), but quickly began providing training, money, and intelligence to selected Syrian rebel commanders. At least two US programs attempted to assist the Syrian rebels, including a 2014 Pentagon program that planned to train and equip 15,000 rebels to fight the IS, which was canceled in 2015 after spending $500 million and producing only a few dozen fighters. A simultaneous $1 billion covert program called Timber Sycamore conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) aimed at fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was more successful, but was decimated by Russian bombing, and canceled in mid-2017 by the Trump administration. The Obama administration began surveillance missions on Islamic State positions in Syria in September 2014. On 22 September 2014, the US, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began to attack ISIL forces inside Syria, as well as the Khorasan group in the Idlib Governorate west of Aleppo, and the al-Nusra Front around Raqqa, as part of the international military intervention against ISIL. Timber Sycamore and Syrian Train and Equip Program At the direction of US President Barack Obama, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was put in charge of operations worth about $1 billion annually to arm anti-government forces in Syria, an operation which formally began in 2013, more than two years after the start of the civil war in 2011. Prior to 2013, the CIA only supplied certain rebel groups of the Free Syrian Army with non-lethal aid, but later began providing training, funding, and intelligence to selected rebel commanders. Although a former intelligence adviser who spoke to journalist Seymour Hersh claimed the CIA had been facilitating the flow of arms from Libya to Syria in collaboration with "the UK [United Kingdom], Saudi Arabia and Qatar" since 2012 or 2011, the first confirmed CIA weapons arrived in Spring 2014: "There were just a handful, delivered to only one rebel group carefully vetted by the CIA". The group, Harakat Hazm, or the Steadfast Movement, showed off the new weapons system by posting the first successful strike on YouTube in April. Another of the groups being vetted was the Islamist Army of Mujahedeen, formed in January 2014 specifically to combat ISIL. However, there were indications that the Army of Mujahedeen was still being vetted in September 2014. In addition to the covert CIA program, on 17 September 2014, the US House of Representatives voted to authorize the executive branch to overtly train and equip Syrian rebels against ISIL forces, at a cost of $500 million. July 2014 rescue mission Following the abduction of a number of foreigners in Syria, on 4 July 2014, the US carried out an operation to rescue foreign hostages being held by ISIL. US airstrikes were conducted against an ISIL military base known as the "Osama bin Laden Camp" while at the same time, two dozen US special forces soldiers dropped from helicopters near an ISIL-held building, thought to be for high-value prisoners. No prisoners were found in the building and the soldiers were quickly engaged by ISIL forces dispatched from Raqqa, which started a three-hour firefight. US forces concluded that the hostages were no longer at the site and abandoned the rescue attempt. At least five ISIL fighters were killed and one US soldier was wounded. Jordanian forces were also reportedly involved in the operation, with one Jordanian soldier reportedly wounded, but Jordanian involvement was not confirmed. Later on, it was reported that the hostages had been moved 24 hours before the attempted rescue. Following the mission, it remained unclear whether the operation failed due to bad intelligence or whether ISIL forces were alerted in advance of the mission. In the aftermath of the rescue mission, and purportedly as a response to airstrikes in Iraq, ISIL beheaded three hostages over a one-month period: Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff on 19 August and 2 September, respectively, and Briton David Haines on 13 September. Surveillance flights over Syria On 26 August 2014, the US began conducting overt surveillance flights, including drones, over Syria to gather intelligence on ISIL targets, collecting information that would aid future airstrikes, even though airstrikes were not yet authorized at that point. No approval was sought from the Assad government for flights entering Syrian airspace. == US-led coalition against ISIL ==

In June 2014, the Iraqi government formally requested the United States to assist in its struggle against ISIL, following the group's offensive in northern Iraq that same month. Since then, the US led efforts to establish a global coalition to counter ISIL. US President Joe Biden called the regime change as a "moment of risk", and clarified that the operations were to ensure that ISIL did not take advantage of the circumstances. Coalition arming and training of the Syrian opposition In October 2014, the Turkish government agreed to help train and equip some moderate Syrian rebels in Turkey. By January 2015, the United States was set to send 400 troops and hundreds of support staff to countries neighboring Syria in order to train 5,000 opposition soldiers a year for the next three years. The countries taking part in the train-and-equip program were to include Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as Turkey. The groups that were expected to be armed and trained by the US government included fighters from the Free Syrian Army. The Pentagon confirmed that it had selected 1,200 Syrian opposition members to begin training in March 2015, with 3,000 to complete training by the end of 2015. The successful experience in Kobanî had informed US policy in regard to arming Syrian opposition groups other than the Kurdish YPG, with plans to give other groups technicals equipped with radio and GPS equipment to call in airstrikes. John R. Allen, President Obama's envoy to the international coalition against ISIL, stated "It is clearly part of our plan, that not only we will train them, and we will equip them with the latest weapons systems, but we will also protect them when the time comes". In March 2015, the United Kingdom announced that it was sending around 75 military instructors to train Syrian opposition forces. The train-and-equip program started on 9 May 2015. On 25 May, Turkey and the US agreed "in principle" on the necessity to support these forces with air support. However, only about 200 rebel fighters actually began training, the majority of whom left after being required to agree to fight only against ISIL and not the Assad government. By mid-2015, only a group of 54 such fighters (Division 30) had been deployed—which was quickly routed in an ambush by al-Nusra—and a further 100 had been thus far finished training in Jordan. In September 2015, it was reported that a further 100-120 were being trained in a second wave, with 75 more Division 30 fighters reported to have re-entered Syria at the end of the month; they were immediately attacked by al-Nusra. ''Jane's Defence Weekly'' reported that in December 2015 the US shipped 994 tonnes of weapons and ammunition (including packaging and container weight), generally of Soviet-type equipment from Eastern Europe, to Syrian rebel groups under the ongoing CIA Timber Sycamore operation. A detailed list of weapon types and shipment weights had been obtained from the US government's Federal Business Opportunities website. As of July 2016, extensive arms shipments were continuing. It was reported in July 2017 that the Donald Trump administration decided to "phase-out" the CIA program to equip and train anti-government rebel groups. == Multinational air war ==

Contributing countries • (Operation Okra) – Airstrikes ended December 2017. Concluded December 2024. • – Ended in 2016 • – Ended in 2017 • (Operation Impact § In Syria) – Airstrikes ended February 2016 • (Dutch military intervention against ISIL and Dutch involvement in the Syrian civil war) – Airstrikes in Syria began January 2016; anti-ISIL operations ended January 2019 • (Jordanian intervention in the Syrian civil war) – Airstrikes partially ended in July 2018 • (Qatari involvement in the Syrian civil war) • (Saudi Arabian involvement in the Syrian civil war) – Involvement ended in 2018 • (Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war and Turkey–Islamic State conflict) • – Involvement ended in 2018 • (Operation Shader § Intervention in Syria) • (Leader) (Operation Inherent Resolve) US airstrikes s being fired from the warships and at ISIL targets in the city of Raqqa taking off from before carrying out strikes on ISIL targets in Syria In his address to the nation on 10 September 2014, US President Obama announced his intention to bomb ISIL targets in Syria and called on Congress to authorize a program to train and arm rebels who were fighting ISIL and the Syrian forces of Bashar al-Assad. On 14 April, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom carried out missile strikes against Syria. On 30 May, President Al-Assad responded to the insult, by saying: "What you say is what you are." It was reported in June 2018 that the 441st Air Expeditionary Squadron reportedly maintained an unpaved runway in Sarrin, Raqqa Governorate. There was reportedly no explosion and the target vehicle was relatively intact, with the roof and windshield impacted from above and one side shredded, leading observers to suggest the munition used was probably the kinetic Hellfire R9X missile that uses blades to eviscerate its target rather than an explosive warhead. On 24 June, Abu Adnan al-Homsi, logistics and equipment commander at the Guardians of Religion Organization, was also killed by a US drone strike. On 25 February 2021, US military airstrikes commanded by US president Joe Biden destroyed multiple facilities related to pro-Iranian militias including Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, at a border control point near al-Hurri village, Abu Kamal District, in retaliation to Erbil missile attacks. At least 17 militants were reported killed in the strikes, although the militias only confirmed one. The strikes were conducted by two F15s dropping Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and was the first overt military operation ordered by the Biden administration. On 28 June 2021, the US military conducted airstrikes on facilities purportedly used by Iranian-supported militias near the Iraq–Syria border. However, the SOHR stated that at least nine Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters died, and many others were injured. Airstrikes on the Khorasan Group Hornets take off from to strike ISIL targets in Syria, 2014 One of the groups targeted by US airstrikes was the Khorasan Group, an extremist group of suspected al-Qaeda "core" members who were alleged to have been plotting an attack against the US and other Western nations. The strikes targeted Khorasan training camps, explosives and munitions production facilities, communications facilities, as well as command and control facilities. The group has been claimed to possess advanced bomb making skills and their plot is claimed to involve a bomb made of a nonmetallic device such as a toothpaste container or clothes dipped in explosive material. The group is reportedly led by Muhsin al-Fadhli, a leader of al-Qaeda and a close confidant of Osama bin Laden. Intelligence officials expressed concern that the group may include militants who were taught by Ibrahim al-Asiri, the chief bomb maker for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who is known for his sophisticated bomb making techniques that nearly downed two Western airliners. Later statements by government officials indicated that the threat of a plot may have been less severe than initially reported. One official indicated that "there did not yet seem to be a concrete plan in the works", while another told The Guardian that "there was no indication of an imminent domestic threat from the group" at the time the United States began bombing. On 6 November, a second round of airstrikes was launched against Khorasan and al-Nusra in northwestern Syria, along with Ahrar ash-Sham at its headquarters in Idlib, whose leadership had been infiltrated by al-Qaeda. On 13 November 2014, the US launched a third set of airstrikes against Khorasan. On 19 November, the US carried out another airstrike on Khorasan near Hazm, which struck and destroyed a storage facility associated with the group. On 1 December, the US carried out another airstrike on Khorasan near Aleppo. On 24 March 2015, it was revealed that the US airstrikes on Khorasan had killed 17 militants from the group. On 8 July 2015, a US airstrike near the town of Sarmada in Idlib, Syria, killed Muhsin al-Fadhli, the leader of Khorasan. In October 2015, a further U.S. airstrike killed another senior Khorasan Group leader, Sanafi al-Nasr, in northwestern Syria, the fifth prominent member of the network eliminated by U.S. strikes that year. == Ground operations ==

Initially, coalition leaders, including US President Obama, said their ground forces would not be used in the fight against ISIL either in Iraq or Syria unless they were local coalition forces. With the general withdrawal continuing, the White House announced late on 21 February that 200 residual US troops would remain in Syria as a "peacekeeping force". The peacekeeping deployment would be indefinite. On 3 November 2019 US and coalition forces departed their strategic military base near the town of Sarrin. US forces removed all their equipment and were seen leaving the base in a convoy of tens of trucks. The base was one of the largest US bases in Syria, a logistics hub that assisted in the anti-ISIL intervention. On 17 November, Russia's state-owned Zvezda channel aired footage of armed Russian sappers and Military Police seizing control of the Kobanî airbase days prior, with choppers landing on the US-made airstrip there and the Russian flag seen hoisted over the fortification, of which had been hastily stripped of essentials by coalition personnel, only leaving behind toiletries, sleeping facilities, some exercise equipment, and other small items. While Syrian government troops gradually re-established its presence in the region, Russia and Turkey continued to occupy and conduct patrols throughout north east Syria as well, in accordance with the Sochi Agreement. By 4 December, the US had completed its military pullback from northeastern Syria and had consolidated its troop presence in the country to a "relatively static" 600 personnel, according to Mark Esper. The withdrawal from north Syria was partially carried out by the US Army 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command's Syria Logistics Cell (SLC), a key component of the Army's 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, and Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. 2019–20: Eastern Syria redeployment on 26 October 2019, amid the return of US forces to oil fields in northeast Syria By 20 October 2019, Bradley IFVs of the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment accompany a patrol in eastern Syria, 13 November 2019 On 30 October, the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, a US combined arms battalion equipped with M2A2 Bradley IFVs deployed to the Deir ez-Zor region to help guard SDF-US controlled oil and gas fields. The battalion is part of the US Army National Guard's 30th ABCT which had begun arriving in Kuwait the week prior to relieve the regular Army 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in support of Operation Spartan Shield, the US's theater-level contingency force for the Middle East. On 3 November, OIR officials confirmed that multiple artillery rounds landed about one kilometer from a road with a US convoy; OIR, without offering additional details, stated no personnel were injured and the patrol was not hit. The Russian Defense Ministry were the first to report the incident, adding that the incident was near Tell Tamer and that it was elements of Turkish-backed rebels that fired the artillery. By mid-January 2020, tensions between Russian and US forces in northeast Syria had reportedly grown as US troops had increasingly begun blocking Russian convoys from accessing certain major roads between towns. Both Russia and the US operate military outposts throughout the region as a part of their respective missions. On 25 August, a Russian military vehicle rammed a US armored car near al-Malikiyah, northeastern Syria, in which four US soldiers had suffered mild concussions. Russian defense minister Sergey Shoygu said that "the US armed forces soldiers tried to block the Russian patrol"; meanwhile, a US defense official said that Russian forces went to a "security zone" that they should not enter. On 30 July 2020, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria signed an agreement with an American oil company, Delta Crescent Energy LLC, to develop oil fields in the region. The Syrian authorities condemned the agreement, and mentioned that: "This agreement is null and void and has no legal basis." Seizing oil without local government permission would be a war crime of pillage. On 19 September, the US deployed additional troops, equipment and armored vehicles to north-eastern Syria after tensions with Russia escalated in the region. According to officials, the moves were meant "to help ensure the safety and security of coalition forces." US Central Command mentioned that the United States had deployed Sentinel radars and Bradley vehicles to augment forces in the "Eastern Syria Security Area" (ESSA). The reinforcements were considered a response to a 26 August incident where a Russian armored vehicle collided with a coalition M-ATV, injuring four US soldiers. It was reported on 30 November 2020 that an airstrike near the Iraq–Syria border killed an unidentified Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander and three other men traveling with him from Iraq and into Syria. The vehicle was struck after it entered Syrian territory. Iraqi security and local militia officials said the commander's vehicle had weapons in it and that pro-Iran paramilitary groups helped retrieve the bodies. Sources did not identify the commander nor elaborate on the exact time of the incident. It was not immediately known who conducted the strike, and Reuters could not independently verify the reports. 2021–24: Continued Iranian—US proxy conflict troops conduct area reconnaissance in Syria, 18 February 2021 On 10 February 2021, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that US troops were not committed to protecting Syrian oil fields except "for where appropriate under certain existing authorizations to protect civilians." He added that "DOD [Department of Defense] personnel or contractors are not authorized to provide assistance to any other private company, including its employees or agents, seeking to develop oil resources in northeastern Syria." On 28 June 2021, President Biden directed airstrikes against Iran-backed militia groups close to the Syria-Iraq border. F-15E and F-16 aircraft were used to launch the attack in what the U.S. described as a retaliatory attack against U.S. facilities and personnel in Iraq by militia groups. Two operational and weapons storage facilities were targeted in Syria, the U.S. military revealed in a statement. Despite the U.S. not disclosing the information regarding the casualties in the attack, the SOHR stated that at least nine Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters died, leaving many others injured. Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran in a statement named four members of the Kataib Sayyed al-Shuhada faction they said were killed in the attack on the Syria-Iraq border. Hours later, U.S. forces in Syria came under fire, following the U.S. strikes on the Syria-Iraqi border. Pro-Iranian militias fired rockets at the American base at Al-Omar Oilfield in Syria in response to U.S. airstrikes. The U.S. coalition responded by firing heavy artillery on Iranian-backed Militias Positions around Al-Mayadin. There were no injuries sustained during the attack, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, Col. Wayne Marotto disclosed. On 10 July 2021, a mortar shell landed near MSS Conoco, with no injuries reported. It was reportedly the fourth attack on or near U.S. troops or diplomats within a week, reportedly including one in which two service members were injured. No group claimed responsibility, but U.S. forces suspected Iran-backed proxy militias of carrying out such attacks. On 20 October 2021, troops at the al-Tanf garrison were attacked by bomb-laden drones in what Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called a "complex, coordinated and deliberate attack". U.S. officials reportedly blamed Iran and its proxy forces for the attack, but publicly declined to specify details of the attack and whether the U.S. was considering retaliation. There were no reports of deaths or injuries. Attacks by small drones carrying munitions have posed a consistent threat to U.S. forces in eastern Syria since at least March 2020, with U.S. forces suspecting ISIL or Iran-backed elements of conducting the attacks, as U.S.-Iranian tensions in the region have persisted. On 24 August 2022, Joe Biden ordered airstrikes on claimed IRGC and Russian-backed proxy groups in Syria near Deir ez-Zor. The airstrikes were in retaliation on an attack on the Al-Tanf garrison. The airstrikes were also considered a massive setback in negotiations in order to revive the JCPOA. Airstrikes were also reported on 25 August. Iran strongly condemned the strikes and denied any links with the targets. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that Liwa Fatemiyoun and the Syrian Army were targeted in the airstrikes. On 23 March 2023, at 1:38 p.m. local time (UTC+03:00), a kamikaze drone allegedly of Iranian origin struck a coalition base at Abu Hajar Airport near Rmelan, al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, The New York Times reported, US officials said the main air defense system at the base was "not fully operational" at the time of Thursday's Drone Strike. In retaliation, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized a response with an airstrike on IRGC-linked targets, including a weapons warehouse in the Harabish neighborhood in Deir ez-Zor, and military posts in the al-Mayadin and Abu Kamal countryside, killing 14 people including nine Syrians, according to SOHR. On 24 March 2023, 10 rockets were launched at the Green Village near al-Omar oil field which injured another American serviceman. On 30 March, the Pentagon revealed that twelve American were wounded in total with six U.S. troops in Syria suffering traumatic brain injuries due to the two attacks by Iran-backed militias. A little-known militant group known as Liwa Al-Ghaliboun (The Brigade of Those who Prevail) On 26 October, United States DoD said it conducted airstrikes on two facilities in eastern Syria linked to IRGC-backed militias in retaliation for the attacks. Tensions escalated significantly on 28 January 2024 when a one-way attack drone struck Tower 22, a small U.S. outpost in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, killing three U.S. soldiers and wounding dozens. The attack, attributed by U.S. officials to Iran-backed militias, marked the deadliest assault on American forces in the region in years. Following the incident, the United States launched large-scale retaliatory airstrikes in early February 2024 against more than 80 targets across Iraq and Syria, including command-and-control facilities, weapons depots, and logistics hubs associated with the IRGC and allied militias. 2024–26: Post-Assad drawdown Commander, US Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Leahy, and Lt. Col. Ross Daly, assigned to 10th Mountain, Task Force Armadillo, all speak together to both SFA and US Army officers in the Deconfliction Zone, Al-Tanf, February 2025 killing a Hurras al-Din senior military leader, 23 February 2025 with U.S. president Donald Trump and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 14 May 2025 A series of nationwide offensives launched in late November 2024 by the Syrian opposition, headed primarily by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led to a swift collapse in the Syrian military's strength and control, and the overthrow of Assad on 8 December 2024. American officials openly stated that there was no US involvement in the operations. The same day that opposition forces entered Damascus, CENTCOM said that it had attacked over 75 targets associated with IS. With the primary conflict between the government and the opposition largely ceasing, the US began evaluating its future role in Syria. This was compounded with the re-election of Donald Trump as President, who was set to take office in January 2025 off a campaign focusing on American disengagement from foreign conflicts. Biden administration officials maintained that the US would still focus on countering IS as its primary activity in Syria. The Department of Defense admitted later in December that the actual number of American soldiers in Syria was 2,000 and not 900 as previously reported. A slew of US airstrikes targeted leaders of Hurras al-Din, al-Qaeda's official branch in Syria, after it had announced its dissolution on 28 January 2025. Between 30 January and 25 February 2025, CENTCOM forces conducted five airstrikes, four in Idlib and one in Aleppo, which altogether killed six or seven people whom the US claimed to be senior Hurras al-Din leaders. In May 2025, US President Donald Trump met with Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and agreed to cooperate with the new Syrian government, beginning a shift in Washington's relations with Syria up to that point. Spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on 17 April 2025 that the Department of Defense would facilitate the "consolidation of US forces in Syria... to select locations," and bring the total amount of US soldiers in the country to less that 1,000. As part of newly-appointed Special Envoy Thomas Barrack's refreshed policy on Syria, around 500 soldiers were withdrawn from the country in May 2025, while the last US base in Deir ez-Zor was also left. Barrack said that the military intended to leave seven of their eight bases in the country. On 25 July 2025, US forces conducted a ground raid in Aleppo Governorate which killed senior IS leader Dhiya' Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two sons, who were both adults and IS members. Three women and three children were at the site of the raid and remained unharmed, while US forces suffered no casualties. On 19 August, a month later, CENTCOM conducted a strike in Atme, Syria, killing Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, an Iraqi national who was a senior IS leader and key financier. On 7 October 2025, CENTCOM killed Muhammad Abd-al-Wahhab al-Ahmad on 2 October, who was an attack planner of Ansar al-Islam, an Al-Qaeda affiliated group. December 2025 Palmyra ambush and retaliation In mid December 2025, two US soldiers and one interpreter were killed by a member of the al-Sharaa government's internal security forces. The killer was killed by US military. US President Trump blamed ISIS and said that the US would retaliate. During the night from 19 to 20 December, US military aircraft including F-15s, A-10s, and Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters; M142 HIMARS systems; and Jordanian F-16s bombed 70 targets, aiming to kill ISIS fighters and destroy ISIS infrastructure. Over the following 10 days, coalition forces conducted 11 ground missions, which resulted in the deaths of several ISIS fighters and the capture of others. On 10 January 2026, U.S. and Jordanian forces launched a second wave of airstrikes on dozens of ISIS positions near Deir ez-Zor. CENTCOM said more than a dozen aircraft, including F-15Es, A-10s, AC-130Js, MQ-9 drones, and Jordanian F-16s, fired over 90 munitions on those targets. On 16 January, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike in northwestern Syria that killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, a senior militant leader believed to be affiliated with an Al-Qaeda-linked group and connected to the Palmyra ambush. In January 2026, a northeastern Syria offensive conducted by the Syrian transitional government against the Kurdish-led SDF led to a significant security vacuum, resulting in the escape and mass transfer of thousands of ISIS detainees. Following the SDF's withdrawal from key facilities such as the al-Hawl and al-Shaddadi prisons, the U.S. military began relocating up to 9,000 detainees to Iraq to prevent a resurgence of ISIS, while Syrian government forces assumed control of several major detention centers, including al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa. Withdrawal On 11 February 2026, the U.S. withdrew its troops from the strategic al-Tanf military base in southeastern Syria, relocating forces and equipment into Jordan after years of operating there as part of the coalition against ISIS. Syrian government forces moved in quickly following the pullout and have taken control of the site near the borders with Jordan and Iraq, marking a significant shift in the American military presence in Syria. On 15 February, U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from al-Shaddadi base in northeastern Syria, handing the facility over to Syrian government forces and relocating personnel and equipment to Iraq. Coalition forces were also reported to be evacuating the Kharab al-Jir base near Rmelan, dismantling or destroying parts of the facility and relocating equipment toward Iraq as part of the broader U.S. military drawdown in the country. On 18 February, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the complete withdrawal of all remaining American troops from Syria within the next two months. Prior to the announcement of a full withdrawal, the remaining U.S. military presence in Syria had already been significantly reduced and was largely confined to three installations in Hasakah province, including oil fields near Rmelan, Himo near Qamishli, and Qasrak overlooking the M4 highway. In the following days, U.S. military truck convoys were reported entering northeastern Syria from Iraq via the Al Waleed border crossing to assist in the evacuation of remaining bases, transporting equipment and logistical supplies as part of the broader American military drawdown from the country. On 14 March, the Syrian forces took control of the Rmelan base following the coalition withdrawal. On 16 April 2026, U.S. military forces completed their withdrawal when American troops evacuated the Qasrak air base in Hasakah province, ending the U.S. military intervention in Syria after troops first arrived in 2015 to fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group. After the evacuation of American troops from the Qasrak base, Syrian military forces entered the base and took control of it. Syrian government issued a statement announcing that it took control of all military sites in Syria that were previously occupied by US troops. == Turkish involvement ==

outskirts, 1 November 2018 Turkey, a NATO member, has been involved in the Syrian civil war since the beginning of hostilities. Turkey has trained and armed some members of the Free Syrian Army and al-Qaeda in Syria, Turkish media reported that the operation occurred at Jindires, in which Abu al-Hussein detonated his suicide vest to avoid being captured. However, the United States could not verify claims by Turkey that its forces killed Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi. The United States believes the HTS is behind the killing despite the latter's denials. Northern Syria Buffer Zone , 4 October 2019. On 15 January 2019, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he agreed with setting up a "safe zone" in northern Syria, after engaging with US President Donald Trump a few days prior. On 7 August 2019, after months of negotiations, Turkey and the US reached a deal to create a buffer zone in northern Syria along the Syria–Turkey border between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Separate from Turkey's own occupation zone in northern Syria, the deal was reached partly to prevent a potential future Turkish ground incursion into Rojava against US-backed Kurdish forces. Under the framework of the deal, the US and Turkey conducted joint troop patrols, and Turkish reconnaissance aircraft would be allowed to monitor the zone. Kurdish YPG and YPJ forces along the Turkish border dismantled their border fortifications, withdrew to a "security belt" alongside regular SDF forces, and removed all heavy weapons from the area. In turn, Turkey was not to conduct airstrikes or establish military observation posts in northern Syria, and was not to "occupy" the region, as administrative and civil rule was to be relegated to SDF military councils and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. According to the SDF, the majority of the zone was not to include any cities or towns. The buffer zone agreement was proven to be short-lived and collapsed on 7 October, after US President Donald Trump gave his approval for a Turkish ground offensive into Rojava, and ordered the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria. The agreement was rendered fully obsolete on 9 October, when Turkey launched a ground incursion into Rojava. In response to the offensive, US Senator Lindsey Graham warned that he would "introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria." He said he would also "call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces who assisted the US in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate." == Reports of civilian casualties and war crimes ==

On 29 September 2014, several groups including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the Aleppo Media Center, and the Local Coordination Committees reported that US strikes hit a grain silo in the ISIL-controlled town of Manbij in northern Syria, killing two civilians. At least 33 people were killed in a US-led coalition airstrike on a school near Raqqa in March 2017. A US military investigation in May 2022 concluded that the airstrike killed 52 ISIL fighters and 4 civilians and did not violate the laws of war. On 25 April 2019, a joint investigation by Amnesty International and Airwars of over 200 strike sites reported that anti-ISIL Coalition bombing during the 2017 Battle of Raqqa had killed 1,600 civilians alone. CJTF-OIR reported the month prior that its 4-year operations over both Iraq and Syria amounted to 1,257 civilian casualties overall. "Coalition forces razed Raqqa...Amnesty International and Airwars call upon the Coalition forces to end their denial about the shocking scale of civilian deaths and destruction caused by their offensive in Raqqa," the investigators said in a joint statement. The Coalition responded that they "continue to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimize the impact of our operations on civilian populations and infrastructure." On 22 February 2024, during live-fire weapons training on an undisclosed range in the area of Al-Hasakah, US forces killed one child and wounded two others. The incident was reported by US and partner forces, citing the incident "was more likely than not due to a compilation of factors related to operating a military weapons range." == Results ==

airstrike on 23 September 2014 The US-led air campaign inflicted heavy losses on the Islamic State and, alongside special forces operations, artillery strikes, and material and intelligence support to the SDF, catalyzed the loss of the bulk of ISIL's Syrian territory. By late 2015, coalition planes were dropping or launching an average of 67 bombs or missiles a day. == Reactions ==

Domestic US approval The intervention was initially conducted with strong domestic US support; according to Gallup polling in 2014, 61% of Americans supported intervention against ISIL in both Iraq and Syria, while 30% were opposed, and 9% undecided. Syrian reactions • – In 2014, a week before the first airstrikes, Ali Haidar, the Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation, said that "any action of any kind without the consent of the Syrian government would be an attack on Syria". • – Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, praised the intervention, saying that an international effort was needed in order to combat the ISIL threat. • – Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, welcomed the airstrikes against militants in Syria, but noted that the involved parties "must abide by international humanitarian law and take all precautions to avoid and minimize civilian casualties". • – At the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations, President Nicolas Maduro said "It's President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government which have stopped the terrorists" and continued by saying "Instead of bombing and bombing, we must make an alliance for peace". May all who were killed in this conflict, foe or friend, rest in peace. == See also ==