Syria takes over al-Tanf base vacated by US troops

DAMASCUS, Feb 12 (Reuters): Syria's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Syrian army units had taken control of the al-Tanf military base vacated by U.S. troops, following coordination between Syrian and U.S. authorities.
Reuters, quoting two sources briefed on the matter, reported on Wednesday that U.S. forces had evacuated the al-Tanf base in far northeastern Syria and were heading to Jordan.
The al-Tanf complex is strategically located at the tri-border confluence of Syria, Jordan and Iraq. It was established during Syria's civil war in 2014 as a key hub for operations by the global coalition against Islamic State militants.
Syria joined the coalition last November when President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, had led Islamist rebels who overthrew longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The U.S. pullout from al-Tanf follows a Washington-brokered deal to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces - a Kurdish-led group backed by the U.S. for a decade in the fight against IS - into central Syrian institutions.