US pulls out of two more bases in Syria, worrying Kurdish forces

U.S. forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State.

Reuters reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces – the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Islamic State for a decade.

Cameras used on bases occupied by the U.S.-led military coalition had been taken down, and razor wire on the outer perimeters had begun to sag.

A Kurdish politician who lives on one base said there were no longer U.S. troops there. SDF guards at the second base said troops had left recently but declined to say when. The Pentagon declined to comment.

Read more: Reuters