American military personnel finished evacuating the Qasrak air base on Thursday as the final group of soldiers and equipment left the facility located in Syria’s Hasakah province, according to officials from both nations.
Syrian forces have now assumed complete authority over nearly all military installations throughout the nation that previously housed American troops.
Damascus issued a statement through Syria’s foreign ministry declaring that “the Syrian state’s restoration of sovereignty over areas that were outside its control, including the northeast and border regions, is the result of the Syrian government’s continuous efforts to unify the country within the framework of a single state.”
The ministry attributed the American pullout to successful negotiations between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had previously maintained authority over much of northeastern Syria, along with victories against remaining Islamic State fighters.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, chief spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, verified the evacuation.
“U.S. forces have completed turning over all of our major bases in Syria, as part of a deliberate and conditions-based transition,” Hawkins stated, noting that American military operations will “continue to support partner-led counterterrorism efforts, which are essential to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS and strengthening regional security.”
Military vehicles and equipment could be observed departing the installation Thursday aboard truck convoys.
American personnel started evacuating Qasrak in late February as part of what seemed to be a broader reduction of U.S. military presence in Syria. Earlier in February, Central Command and Syria’s defense ministry revealed that American forces had also departed the al-Tanf installation in eastern Syria near Jordan’s border.
The military evacuation followed the completion of transferring approximately 5,700 suspected Islamic State fighters from detention facilities in northeastern Syria to Iraqi prisons, where they await trial.
The primary objective of American troops in Syria has been preventing an Islamic State comeback. While the terrorist organization lost its final territorial holdings in Syria in 2019, dormant cells continue launching sporadic attacks across Syria, Iraq and internationally.
