Syria says it has taken over another base from US forces

DAMASCUS – Syria’s Defence Ministry said on Feb 15 that it had taken over the Al-Shaddadi base in the north-east from US forces, days after assuming control of a facility near the Jordan-Iraq borders.

“The forces of the Syrian Arab Army have taken over the Al-Shaddadi military base in the Hasakeh countryside following coordination with the American side,” a ministry statement said.

US forces operating as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group had been stationed at the base outside the town of the same name.

The town housed a prison where Kurdish forces detained members of the extremist jihadist organisation, before government forces advanced into the area in January.

The announcement on Feb 15 follows US confirmation on Feb 12 that its forces had

vacated Al-Tanf base

near Syria’s borders with Jordan and Iraq.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were a major partner of the US-led international coalition against IS, and were instrumental in the group’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019.

But following the fall in December 2024

of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad

, the United States has drawn closer to the new government in Damascus, recently declaring that the need for its alliance with the Kurds had largely passed.

Despite IS’ territorial defeat, the group remains active, however.

On Feb 15, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had struck more than 30 IS targets in Syria in February.

A CENTCOM statement said the air strikes between Feb 3 and 12 hit IS “infrastructure and weapons storage targets”. AFP