DAMASCUS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Syria's interim authority said Sunday that its army has taken control of the Shaddadi military base in the northeastern province of Hasakah following coordination with the United States, marking another step in the drawdown of U.S.-led coalition forces from parts of the country.
In a brief statement, the defense authority in Damascus said its forces had assumed control of the base, located south of Hasakah city. No further details were provided about the timing of the handover or the future use of the facility.
The announcement follows a series of reports in recent days about the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from several key positions in Syria, including the Tanf base near the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border. Syrian interim authorities have said those withdrawals were carried out through coordination and were followed by deployments of pro-Damascus forces and border guard units.
Shaddadi has long been a strategic site in northeastern Syria. It previously hosted U.S. and coalition forces operating alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as part of the campaign against the Islamic State group. The base sits near important transport routes and areas that have seen repeated security tensions in recent years.
The handover also comes amid a broader political and security shift in northeastern Syria, where the interim authority in Damascus and the SDF have reached ceasefire and integration agreements aimed at reducing hostilities and gradually reintegrating security and administrative structures under Damascus control.
U.S. officials have not publicly commented on the Shaddadi handover. Washington has previously said its military presence in Syria is focused on preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State group, even as it reviews force posture and redeployments in the region. ■
