US military begins withdrawing from key base in northeastern Syria

"The United States has started withdrawing from a key military base in northeastern Syria and redeploying its forces to northern Iraq, marking the first phase of a pullout expected to last several weeks. Heavy machinery, personnel and trucks carrying armoured vehicles could be seen moving on Monday in the northwestern city of Hasakah from the Qasrak base, the largest US base in Syria. They were headed towards the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq."

"Local sources told Al Jazeera there are different sets of equipment to be transferred, including sensitive high-tech tools that may take weeks to transport into Iraq. US President Donald Trump's administration has been weighing a full withdrawal since at least January. The Al Jazeera Arabic reported that the first phase of the withdrawal included the transfer of soldiers and equipment from the al-Shaddadi base, south of Hasakah, and the al-Omar oilfield in Deir Az Zor province."

"The Syrian army gained full control of the al-Shaddadi base on February 15. The US has been reducing its military footprint in Syria for months, going from 1,500 personnel in July to about 900 currently. A full withdrawal from Qasrak would still leave US forces with a base in Rmelan near the Iraqi border. Fighters from the US-trained, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been in control of large parts of northern and eastern Syria until January."

US forces have begun a multi-week withdrawal from the Qasrak base in northeastern Syria, redeploying personnel, heavy machinery and armoured vehicles to northern Iraq. Transfers include sensitive high-tech equipment that may take weeks to move. The first phase also involved moving soldiers and gear from al-Shaddadi and the al-Omar oilfield. The Syrian army seized al-Shaddadi on February 15. US troop levels in Syria have declined from about 1,500 in July to roughly 900. A full Qasrak exit could still leave a US presence at Rmelan. Kurdish-led SDF forces lost territory and have integrated with the Syrian army, which also took control of al-Tanf.

Read at www.aljazeera.com