US may halve number of troops in Syria

The U.S. military is set to consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half.

The U.S. military has about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria across a number of bases, mostly in the northeast. The troops are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back.

One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that consolidation could reduce the number of troops in Syria to about 1,000.

Another U.S. official confirmed the plan for a reduction, but said there was no certainty on numbers and was skeptical of a decrease of that scale at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration has been negotiating with Iran and building up forces in the region.

The United States has recently sent aircraft including B-2 bombers, warships and air defense systems to reinforce the Middle East.

Trump said on Monday that he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran’s atomic facilities.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is carrying out a global review of U.S. military troops around the world.

The U.S. gave Syria a list in March of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief but the Trump administration has otherwise engaged little with the country’s new rulers.

According to Ynet, Israel has previously tried to prevent such a decision, but failed. However, Israeli intelligence officials continue to pressure Washington to keep U.S. troops in Syria.