US Withdraws From Strategic Al-Tanf Garrison in Southern Syria After More Than a Decade

U.S. forces completed a withdrawal from the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria on Feb. 11–12, ending more than a decade of American presence at the remote Syria–Iraq–Jordan tri-border outpost.

“Syrian state media says its forces have taken control of the al‑Tanf military base in the border triangle with Jordan and Iraq, with troops deployed inside and around the site”

Al-Jazeera Net

U.S. Central Command described the move as a deliberate and conditions-based transition, framing the pullout as part of a planned consolidation of deployments tied to the counter-ISIS mission rather than a sudden exit.

Al-Jazeera Net

Syrian and regional outlets report the site was handed to Syrian army units as Damascus moves to secure the position and surrounding desert.

Al‑Tanf was established in 2014 as a U.S. anti‑ISIS hub.

It served as a key staging area and controlled a 55‑km 'deconfliction' or no‑fly/no‑drive zone that effectively partitioned territory in the eastern desert.

Al-Jazeera Net

The site was used to monitor Iranian‑backed groups and ISIS activity across the corridor from the Jordanian border to the Euphrates.

In some periods it was expanded and fitted with surveillance balloons and robust airpower support.

Reporting places the withdrawal within a wider political shift.

“Share Save A meeting held between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sheibani and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi and Kurdish leader Ilham Ahmed, during their participation on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, has sparked wide questions across social media platforms”

Al-Jazeera Net

Several outlets link the move to Washington signaling support for Syria’s new leadership and to ongoing talks about integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Damascus.

Reporters say those developments have altered U.S. reliance on local partners.

Some coverage ties the transfer to the reported December 2024 toppling of Bashar al-Assad and the installation of a new government, and notes recent advances by pro-government forces into eastern Syria.

U.S. officials and some reporting stress continued counter‑ISIS commitments despite the pullout.

CENTCOM and U.S. officials described the withdrawal as a transition in the CJTF‑OIR campaign and said American forces remain ready to respond to ISIS threats and will support partners to prevent the group's re‑emergence.

Anadolu Ajansı

Other sources attribute the base’s closure to a reassessment of its necessity after political changes in Syria and a wider regional recalibration.

Immediate aftermath reporting shows Damascus and pro-government forces moving to secure the garrison and surrounding desert, with Syrian officials and interim authorities reporting deployments and plans to hand day-to-day control to border guards.

“US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Commander-in-Chief of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi at the Munich Security Conference, the State Department announced on Saturday”

Asharq Al-awsat - English

Observers link the handover to a broader regional recalibration amid periodic escalations involving Iranian-backed groups, Israel and U.S. forces, a dynamic that several outlets say makes the al-Tanf handover consequential beyond local ground control.

Asharq Al-awsat - English