1.3.1. US-led coalition
Following a large wave of US strikes on the ISIL sites in the central desert in the aftermath of the downfall of the Assad regime,257 offensives by the US-led Global Coalition continued over the year 2025258 and at least into February 2026,259 in collaboration with the transitional government260 and the SDF.261 Notably, large-scale strikes were launched as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, announced by the US on 19 December 2025 in response to an ISIL attack on 13 December in Palmyra that had resulted in three US fatalities.262
Meanwhile, after having been stationed in Syria since 2015,263 the US government started to withdraw troops in April 2025,264 handing over or closing down multiple bases.265 On 16 April 2026, the US announced that it had completed the withdrawal of its forces from Syria and handed over its last remaining military base266 (Qasrak air base in Hasaka). The transitional government has taken over control of all bases where US forces had been stationed.267
At the same time, longstanding US support for the SDF as a partner in fighting ISIL shifted during the reference period towards backing the transitional government.268 The US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, declared on 20 January 2026 that the ‘original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely ended’269 and called on Kurds in the country to integrate into the new Syrian state.270
- 257
MEI, ISIS is on the ropes in Syria. A successful transition in Damascus could deliver a knockout blow, 14 April 2025, url
- 258
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/62, 12 March 2026, url, para. 22
- 259
US, CENTCOM, U.S. Forces Continue Strikes on ISIS Targets in Syria, 14 February 2026, url; US, CENTCOM, U.S., Partner Forces Strike ISIS Targets in Syria, 10 January 2026, url; BBC, US carries out 'massive' strike against IS in Syria, 20 December 2025, url; US, CENTCOM, U.S., Syrian Forces Locate and Destroy ISIS Weapons Caches in Southern Syria, 30 November 2025, url; US, CENTCOM, CENTCOM Degrades ISIS in Syria, 12 November 2025, url
- 260
US, CENTCOM, CENTCOM Degrades ISIS in Syria, 12 November 2025, url
- 261
USDOD, Operation Inherent Resolve And Other U.S. Government activities related to Iraq & Syria, July 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025, 17 February 2026, url, p. 11
- 262
US, CENTCOM, U.S., Partner Forces Strike ISIS Targets in Syria, 10 January 2026, url
- 263
BBC, US carries out 'massive' strike against IS in Syria, 20 December 2025, url
- 264
USDOD, Operation Inherent Resolve and other U.S. Government Activities related to Iraq & Syria, January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025, 29 April 2025, url, p. 14
- 265
Enab Baladi, Syrian Army Takes Over al-Shaddadi Base After Coalition Handover, 15 February 2026, url; ISW and CTP, Iran Update, February 12, 2026, 12 February 2026, url; Al Arabiya English, US withdraws hundreds of troops from Syria after Pentagon directive, 3 June 2025, url
- 266
Jusoor for Studies, U.S. Withdrawal Shifts Damascus-SDF Calculus, 22 April 2026, url; CSIS, The United States Withdraws from Syria, 20 April 2026, url; MEE, US military fully withdraws from Syria after 10 years, 16 April 2026, url
- 267
Al Jazeera, Syria takes control of all bases where US forces were deployed, 16 April 2026, url
- 268
Rodgers, W.M., What recent developments in Syria mean for the Kurds, Chatham House, 10 February 2026, url; Al Jazeera, Syrian forces make gains against SDF: What it means for country’s Kurds, 21 January 2026, url
- 269
Etana Syria, Brief: Raqqa, Deir Ezzor fall to interim authorities, 21 January 2026, url
- 270
Rodgers, W.M., What recent developments in Syria mean for the Kurds, Chatham House, 10 February 2026, url