Boots On The Ground: U.S. Forces In Syria
- By Amos Chapple
This is what the American military presence in Syria -- which U.S. President Donald Trump says he will begin withdrawing -- looked like during its nearly three years in the country.
![U.S. armored vehicles driving through Hajin, in eastern Syria, in December 2018. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/e0674bfa-67a0-438a-9716-00332ca43280_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. armored vehicles driving through Hajin, in eastern Syria, in December 2018.
![U.S. Marines firing a howitzer during fighting in northern Syria in March 2017. American troops have been operating inside Syria since early 2016. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/91c8191e-40d0-4f47-8f81-5a5d6a3b93a1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. Marines firing a howitzer during fighting in northern Syria in March 2017. American troops have been operating inside Syria since early 2016.
![Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the Syrian town of Al-Darbasiyah in April 2017. The stated U.S. mission in Syria includes training and advising rebel forces fighting Islamic State (IS) militants. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/8f6b8823-92f5-438f-97f3-d14d1b8baa8e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the Syrian town of Al-Darbasiyah in April 2017. The stated U.S. mission in Syria includes training and advising rebel forces fighting Islamic State (IS) militants.
![U.S. Marines pop a mortar towards an IS target in eastern Syria in October 2018. U.S. forces have also launched "kill or capture" missions targeting prominent IS leaders. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/0eee11b1-3184-4f82-b008-420010cc4ea6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. Marines pop a mortar towards an IS target in eastern Syria in October 2018. U.S. forces have also launched "kill or capture" missions targeting prominent IS leaders.
![U.S. soldiers in a house they converted into an outpost in northern Syria. The U.S. deployment currently stands at around 2,000 troops, up from just a few hundred in 2017.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a2e6bc1f-e068-4558-a486-0e917a74027f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. soldiers in a house they converted into an outpost in northern Syria. The U.S. deployment currently stands at around 2,000 troops, up from just a few hundred in 2017.
![U.S. soldiers inside a YPG base in northeastern Syria in April 2017. Four American service members have been killed since the Syrian operation began, most recently in March 2018 when an American and a British soldier were killed by an explosive. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/fda92eb2-3b7c-4d05-858c-45f9f1e2359b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. soldiers inside a YPG base in northeastern Syria in April 2017. Four American service members have been killed since the Syrian operation began, most recently in March 2018 when an American and a British soldier were killed by an explosive.
![U.S. and Turkish forces conduct joint patrols on the outskirts of Manbij in November 2018. Syria is today an "ever congested" battle space, with U.S.-, Turkish-, Syrian-, Russian-, and Iranian-affiliated fighters all variously cooperating and clashing in the country. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/2d94977c-0b08-47f7-8693-44c81aeef4f8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. and Turkish forces conduct joint patrols on the outskirts of Manbij in November 2018. Syria is today an "ever congested" battle space, with U.S.-, Turkish-, Syrian-, Russian-, and Iranian-affiliated fighters all variously cooperating and clashing in the country.
![A U.S. military commander (right) with YPG fighters as they inspect the damage done to a YPG base after it was hit by Turkish air strikes. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/6e5455a7-3a3a-4738-ba6f-3b2611742f6f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A U.S. military commander (right) with YPG fighters as they inspect the damage done to a YPG base after it was hit by Turkish air strikes.
![U.S. Marine howitzers pummel an IS position during the four-month battle for Raqqa, the de facto "capital" of the Islamic State group until the city was liberated in October 2017. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/84a35d6c-cf72-4b79-97d2-10bf9da81688_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. Marine howitzers pummel an IS position during the four-month battle for Raqqa, the de facto "capital" of the Islamic State group until the city was liberated in October 2017.
![A U.S military demining vehicle leads a convoy near Raqqa in July 2017. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/0717b066-164b-4c06-9d1c-65dddf418e0e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A U.S military demining vehicle leads a convoy near Raqqa in July 2017.
![A U.S. base near Manbij in May 2018. The most infamous clash of the U.S. deployment came when hundreds of fighters aligned with the Syrian regime -- many of them Russian -- launched an attack on a Kurdish base with U.S. special forces inside... ](https://gdb.rferl.org/abf698f4-e49d-4111-8825-b16e68f44eb4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A U.S. base near Manbij in May 2018. The most infamous clash of the U.S. deployment came when hundreds of fighters aligned with the Syrian regime -- many of them Russian -- launched an attack on a Kurdish base with U.S. special forces inside...
![An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress refueling during a bombing mission over Syria in February 2017. After the regime-aligned forces attacked the Kurdish base, American aircraft and artillery were used to pummel the attackers. At least dozens were killed in the "inferno," including many Russian mercenaries.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d75bfdf7-71d7-4695-b339-7417c131f1e5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress refueling during a bombing mission over Syria in February 2017. After the regime-aligned forces attacked the Kurdish base, American aircraft and artillery were used to pummel the attackers. At least dozens were killed in the "inferno," including many Russian mercenaries.
![A local flashes a "V for victory" sign at U.S. military vehicles near Al-Darbasiyah. According to the U.S. Defense Department, the coalition has recaptured around 90 percent of the territory once held by IS in Syria. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/e456a733-a22e-4a1f-a693-95e98437db8b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A local flashes a "V for victory" sign at U.S. military vehicles near Al-Darbasiyah. According to the U.S. Defense Department, the coalition has recaptured around 90 percent of the territory once held by IS in Syria.
![A U.S. vehicle near Manbij in April 2018. On December 19, U.S. President Donald Trump declared it was time for American troops "to come back home." The statement led to a flurry of criticism that the move would embolden IS, with one Republican senator saying a withdrawal would be a mistake, claiming the Islamic State group has been "degraded" but not yet defeated. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/7a1a5b0e-4d9f-42ba-9b00-64b4d508b00a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A U.S. vehicle near Manbij in April 2018. On December 19, U.S. President Donald Trump declared it was time for American troops "to come back home." The statement led to a flurry of criticism that the move would embolden IS, with one Republican senator saying a withdrawal would be a mistake, claiming the Islamic State group has been "degraded" but not yet defeated.