The US delegation is reportedly going to visit Syria in the coming days to discuss with officials of the ruling Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) regime and sign a contract for the construction of permanent military bases in Arab countries.
Local sources say the military facilities will be established in the strategic Al-Tanf region near the border between Iraq and Jordan.
Sources added that following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad in December last year, it will be the first of its kind to officially establish a base in Syrian soil.
They also noted that US representatives would promote the construction of naval bases on Syria’s west coast and seek approval from the HTS-led administration for its purpose.
Sources noted that the base perpetuates the presence of US troops on Syrian territory, reducing the number of troops from 2,000 to 500.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on April 18 that the US military intends to reduce its military presence in Syria to less than 1,000 troops in the coming months.
“This intentional and conditional process will reduce Syrian US footprint to less than 1,000 US troops in the coming months,” he said.
The US military has around 2,000 US troops in Syria, mainly at several bases in the northeast.
The Pentagon did not specify how many troops will be drawn out in the release, but the New York Times previously reported that the number was 600.
This release also did not provide a specific timeline for withdrawal.
The US military has been deploying troops and equipment in northeastern Syria since 2014 without permission from the Arab government, and the Pentagon claims the deployment is intended to prevent local oil fields from falling into the hands of the wreckage of Dash.
However, Damascus argued that the deployment was intended to plunder the country’s natural resources.
Over the past few years, US occupation forces have revealed that they have used tankers to smuggle Syrian crude oil from the country’s northern states to bases in northern Iraq as part of the systematic looting of Syrian bases.
US President Donald Trump has also confirmed several times that the US military was in the Arab state because of its oil wealth.
Additionally, there have been several reports showing direct or indirect support of Washington through the regional allies of the Daesh Terrorist Group over the past few years.
MNA/