Approximately halving planned: United States Reducing the troop strength in Syria

The United States has announced a reduction in its military presence in Syria and want to halve the troop strength in the country in the coming months. In the future, there should be fewer bases in Syria and there should be “less than 1,000 US soldiers”, the Ministry of Defense said. Most recently, about 2,000 soldiers were stationed there.

The consolidation of the use in Syria takes into account the successes in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS), it said from the Pentagon. The command center of the US military (Centcom) responsible for the region could continue to carry out attacks on IS surge in Syria. The United States would also work closely with its allies.

Previously, US media had already reported on the planned partial deduction from Syria. The US military closes three of its eight small bases in the northeast of the country, reported the “New York Times”. The newspaper also wrote that after 60 days it should be checked whether further cuts should be made. The military commanders would have recommended to leave at least 500 US soldiers in Syria.

IS once dominated large areas in Syria and in neighboring Iraq. The organization has been defeated militarily, has spread internationally since then and continues to plan terrorist attacks in the west or donate to them.

In recent years, IS has steadily expanded its skills in Syria and is likely to use the fall of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year to further gain strength. So IS had the opportunity to bring large arsenales of the old government into its possession.