U.S. forces began ​pulling out of their largest base in northeastern Syria ⁠on Monday (February 23, 2026), three Syrian military and security sources said, part of a wider departure as the U.S.-allied government in Damascus consolidates control.

Dozens of trucks, some carrying armoured vehicles, ‌departed the base at Qasrak in Hasakah province on Monday (February 23) morning, witnesses said. Reuters footage later showed the trucks moving along ‌a highway on the outskirts of the city of Qamishli.

The ‌U.S. ⁠military’s Central Command (Centcom) did not immediately respond to an emailed ⁠request for comment. A full withdrawal from Qasrak would still leave the U.S.-led coalition with a base in Rmelan, also known as Kharab al-Jir, near the Iraqi border.

Qasrak has been ​a main hub for ‌the U.S.-led global coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria, where U.S. troops deployed over a decade ago, partnering with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the jihadist group. Neither the Syrian Defence Ministry nor the SDF ‌responded to requests for comment.

Drawdown expected to take weeks

One of ​the Syrian sources, a military official briefed on U.S. plans, said the pullout was expected to take about a ⁠month, but that it remained unclear whether the withdrawal from the base was temporary or permanent.

The second Syrian source, also briefed on U.S. plans, ‌said it would take a number of weeks.

Since government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa seized control of swathes of the northeast from the SDF last month, U.S. forces have withdrawn from a base at al-Shaddadi in Hasakah province, and a garrison at al-Tanf, located at the intersection of Syria’s border with Iraq and Jordan.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters ‌on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) that some U.S. troops were leaving Syria as part of a “deliberate and conditions-based ​transition.” The official said U.S. presence at scale was no longer needed given the Syrian government’s “willingness to take primary responsibility for ⁠combating the terrorist threat within its borders”.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week ⁠that the U.S. was withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria. Syria joined the U.S.-led coalition to combat Islamic ‌State last year. The militant group, which once controlled a third of Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility for two attacks on Saturday (February 21, 2026) that ​killed a soldier and a civilian.

The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to proceed with planning for a potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria, which was shuttered in 2012 during the country’s civil war.

A notice to congressional committees earlier this month, which was obtained by The Associated Press, informed lawmakers of the State Department’s “intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume embassy operations in Syria.” The February 10 notification said that spending on the plans would begin in 15 days, or next week, although there was no timeline offered for when they would be complete or when U.S. personnel might return to Damascus on a full-time basis.

The administration has been considering re-opening the embassy since last year, shortly after longtime strongman Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024, and it has been a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack.

Mr. Barrack has pushed for a deep rapprochement with Syria and its new leadership under former rebel Ahmad al-Sharaa and has successfully advocated for the lifting of U.S. sanctions and a reintegration of Syria into the regional and international communities. Last May, Barrack visited Damascus and raised the U.S. flag at the embassy compound, although the embassy was not yet re-opened.

The same day the congressional notification was sent, Mr. Barrack lauded Syria’s decision to participate in the coalition that is combating the Islamic State militant group, even as the U.S. military has withdrawn from a small, but important, base in the southeast and there remain significant issues between the government and the Kurdish minority.

“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-ISIS Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” Mr. Barrack said.

The embassy re-opening plans are classified and the State Department declined to comment on details beyond confirming that the congressional notification was sent.

However, the department has taken a similar “phased” approach in its plans to re-open the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, following the U.S. military operation that ousted former President Nicolás Maduro in January, with the deployment of temporary staffers who would live in and work out of interim facilities.