What to know about the US military’s role in Syria after deadly IS attack

BEIRUT — The deaths of two U.S. service members and a U.S. civilian in an attack in Syria by a suspected member of the Islamic State group has focused new attention on the presence of U.S. forces in the country.

Saturday’s attack was the first to result in deaths since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

The United States has had troops on the ground in Syria for more than a decade, with the stated mission of fighting ISIS. Although not part of its official mission, the U.S. presence has also been seen as a way to impede the flow of Iranian and Iranian-backed fighters and weapons into Syria from neighboring Iraq.

The number of American troops in the country has fluctuated and currently stands at around 900 troops. They are mainly stationed in the Kurdish-controlled northeast and at the al-Tanf base, in the southeast desert, near the borders with Iraq and Jordan.

Here is the history and current status of the US military force in Syria:

In 2011, mass protests in Syria against Assad’s government were met with brutal repression and escalated into a civil war that lasted nearly 14 years before his ouster in December 2024.

Fearful of getting bogged down in another costly and politically unpopular war in the Middle East after its experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington sent support to rebel groups but initially avoided direct military intervention.

That changed after the rise of ISIS, which carried out sporadic attacks in the United States and Europe, while in Iraq and Syria it seized territory that was at one point half the size of the United Kingdom. In areas controlled by the group, it was known for its brutality against religious minorities, as well as against Muslims whom it considered apostates.

In 2014, the administration of then-US President Barack Obama launched an air campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The following year, the first U.S. ground troops entered Syria, where they joined forces with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast of the country.

By 2019, ISIS had lost control of all the territory it once held, but sleeper cells continued to launch attacks.

Before Assad’s overthrow, Washington had no diplomatic relations with Damascus and the US military did not work directly with the Syrian army.

This has changed over the past year. Ties have warmed between the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump and interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, former leader of the Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once listed by Washington as a terrorist organization.

In November, al-Sharaa became the first Syrian president to visit Washington since the country’s independence in 1946. During his visit, Syria announced its entry into the global coalition against the Islamic State, joining 89 other countries that have pledged to fight the group.

Although entry into the coalition marks a move toward greater coordination between the Syrian and U.S. militaries, Syrian security forces have not formally joined Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria that has for years partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria.

The number of American troops deployed in Syria has evolved over the years.

Trump attempted to withdraw all his forces from Syria during his first term, but faced opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning Washington’s Kurdish allies, leaving them open to a Turkish offensive.

Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has led a long-running insurgency in Turkey.

The number of U.S. troops increased to more than 2,000 after the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, as Iranian-backed militants targeted U.S. troops and interests in the region in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Troops have since been reduced to around 900 troops, but Trump has given no indication that he intends to withdraw completely in the near future.

After Saturday’s attack, US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack posted on X: “A limited number of US forces remain deployed in Syria with the sole aim of completing the task of defeating ISIS once and for all.” »

The U.S. presence “empowers local Syrian partners to combat these terrorists on the ground, ensuring that U.S. forces will not have to engage in another costly, large-scale war in the Middle East,” he said, adding: “We will not waver in this mission until ISIS is completely destroyed.” »