The Pentagon announced on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration is reducing the number of U.S. troops in Syria to “less than a thousand” in the “coming months.”
In a Friday statement released by the Department of Defense, Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the Pentagon, said, “Recognizing the success the United States has had against ISIS, including its 2019 territorial defeat under President Trump, today the Secretary of Defense directed the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria under Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve to select locations in Syria.”
Parnell explained that the “consolidation” of U.S. forces in Syria is a reflection of the “significant steps” the U.S. military has taken “toward degrading ISIS’ appeal and operational capability regionally and globally.”
While the Pentagon did not announce how many U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Syria as part of the reduction of U.S. forces in Syria, The New York Times reported on Thursday that roughly 600 U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Syria under the Trump administration.
READ MORE: US military pulling out of key Polish hub for Ukraine aid
“This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months,” Parnell said in Friday’s statement.
“As this consolidation takes place, consistent with President Trump’s commitment to peace through strength, U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria,” Parnell added. “We will also work closely with capable and willing Coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise.”
Despite ordering the reduction of the U.S. military’s presence in Syria, Parnell emphasized that the Department of Defense “continues to maintain a significant amount of capability in the region and the ability to make dynamic force posture adjustments based on evolving security situations on the ground.”
In December, former Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the number of U.S. troops in Syria was much higher than the Biden-Harris administration had previously reported. While the Biden-Harris administration had initially reported that approximately 900 U.S. troops had been deployed to Syria, Ryder noted that roughly 2,000 U.S. troops had actually been deployed to Syria.
