United States intervention in Syria

The United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war on 22 September 2014 with the stated aim of combatting the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) militant organization. The intervention was part of Operation Inherent Resolve and saw the US support both anti-ISIL and anti-Assad factions, including the Syrian Armed Forces under the transitional government and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Shortly after the start of the civil war in 2011, the Obama administration placed new sanctions on Syria and supported the Free Syrian Army rebel faction by covertly authorizing Timber Sycamore under which the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) armed and trained rebels. Following the Islamic State's occupation of Eastern Syria in August 2014, the United States conducted surveillance flights in Syria to gather intelligence on the group. In September 2014, the US-led coalition—which involved the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia, and others—launched an air campaign against the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front inside Syria.

The missile strike on Shayrat Airbase on 7 April 2017 was the first time the US deliberately attacked Syrian government forces during the war, with US forces proceeding to periodically attack Assad's forces and allies often in defense of either the SDF or the Syrian Free Army opposition group based in al-Tanf. In mid-January 2018, the Trump administration indicated its intention to maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria to accomplish US political objectives, including countering Iranian influence and ousting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, however, on 19 December, President Trump unilaterally ordered the withdrawal of the 2,000–2,500 US ground troops in Syria at the time, which was to be completed in 2019. Concerns over a power vacuum resulted in the US instead leaving around 400 US troops garrisoned in Syria indefinitely, with any withdrawal being gradual and conditions-based, returning to a policy of open-ended US intervention in the counntry.

In 2019, the coalition saw decisive results in its intervention against the Islamic State; the terror group lost its last remaining territory in Syria during the battle of Baghuz Fawqani and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a US special forcesraid in Idlib in October 2019. The Trump administration ordered all US forces to withdraw from Rojava in early October ahead of a Turkishincursion into the region, a controversial move widely seen as a reneging of the US's alliance with the SDF in favor of NATO ally Turkey. However, by November 2019, US troops instead repositioned to eastern Syria, reinforcing their presence in the al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor governorates, with the subordinate mission of securing SDF-controlled oil and gas infrastructure from the IS insurgency and the Syrian government. On 23 November 2019, the head of US Central Command stated there was no "end date" on the US's intervention in Syria.

The US Department of Defense stated that there were around 900 US soldiers operating in Syria as of February 2021. On 19 December 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime, the Pentagon revealed that there were around 2,000 US troops in Syria, adding that the increase was temporary and occurred in recent months. However, the U.S. military continued to withdraw in 2025, leaving less than 1,000 troops to work with allies to fight the Islamic State militants. In February 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the complete withdrawal of American forces from Syria within the next two months. American forces completed their withdrawal on 16 April 2026, when US troops evacuated the Qasrak base in the Hasakah region, marking the end of more than a decade of American military presence in Syria. However, the conflict briefly continued about two months later when on June 19 the United States conducted an airstrike in Syria killing ISIS leader Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, in a single post withdrawal strike.