Massive convoys of US military equipment have been filmed leaving Syria overnight sparking fears the withdrawal could allow Islamic State fighters to re-launch an extremist caliphate. American soldiers and bases have been operating on the ground in Syria since the war with ISIS began in 2015. 

The fearsome US military presence supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Force (SDF) in the north east of Syria as part of an allied coalition, including the British military, waging war against the Islamic death cult. ISIS was defeated in 2019 as a fighting force but American bases have remained in the region supporting the SDF which had been guarding huge detention camps holding thousands of extremists.

However, in the past month new Syrian central government forces and tribal militias launched an offensive against the SDF and seized control of vast areas of the majority Kurdish north east of the country. The Damascus-based government forces took control of al-Hol camp two weeks ago, the world’s largest ISIS prison holding 30,000 jihadists and their families.

Al-Hol is close to a US military base. There is also an American base near al-Roj camp, which is where British former ISIS bride Shamima Begum is held along with several other former UK jihadists. The detention centre holds around 2,000 ex-ISIS women and their children and is just 90 miles north east from al-Hol.

SDF fighters retain control of al-Roj at present but there are fears if Damascus forces take control there could be a repeat of scenes at other captured prisons where ISIS prisoners have been released and jihadis welcomed the government troops with cheers and shouts of “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great” in Arabic.

US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, confirmed in a post on X that “the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired”. He added: “The US has no interest in long-term military presence; it prioritizes (sic) defeating ISIS remnants, supporting reconciliation, and advancing national unity without endorsing separatism or federalism.”

The footage of American humvees, tanks and soldiers leaving Syria was shared by Kurdish news channel Kurdistannews24, it reported: “The US led coalition is withdrawing from northeast Syria which is majority Kurdish area , and has abandoned the Kurds, leaving them unprotected in the hands of terrorists such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists.”

In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer on Friday, Kurdish groups and unions in Britain told the PM the “UK and wider international community owe a huge debt to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who played a decisive role in the defeat of ISIS”.

It added: “We are gravely concerned about the recent developments in Syria and the attacks on the Kurdish led SDF by forces of the Syrian Transitional Government acting alongside jihadi militias. Of particular concern are credible reports that ISIS prisoners have been released during these assaults, raising the clear and present danger of an ISIS resurgence.”

A tenuous ceasefire has now been signed between the SDF and Damascus government forces after fierce fighting raged for much of January. 

CENTCOM, the US military command in the Middle East, confirmed in a statement “up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could be transferred from Syria to Iraqi-controlled facilities” during a new operation announced on January 21. 

Express.co.uk have approached CENTCOM for comment on the footage showing American troop movements.

The SDF announced a new agreement with the central government on Friday, aiming to stabilise a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and lay out steps toward integrating the US-backed force into the army and police forces and integrating civilian institutions in the SDF-controlled areas into the central government.

Rohilat Afrin, general commander of the SDF’s Women’s Protection Units, or YPJ, said in an interview Saturday that implementation of the integration deal will begin Monday, with the entry of some government security forces into the Kurdish-majority cities of Qamishli and al-Hassakeh.

“Only a limited number of government security forces will enter to oversee the integration of institutions, after which they will withdraw” while army units from outside of the Kurdish region will not enter Kurdish-majority areas, she said.

The deal agreed upon between the SDF and Damascus stipulates formation of a new military division under the command of the Syrian defense ministry consisting of three brigades of SDF fighters in Hassakeh province, in addition to the formation of a brigade of SDF fighters within a division in Aleppo province.

There was no reference in the agreement to the future of the SDF’s all-female fighting units, a sensitive point as many of the Damascus leaders come from a conservative Muslim background and are opposed to women in combat.

Afrin said the Women’s Protection Units “will join the brigades that will be established and maintain their independence within these brigades”.

During the war against ISIS Kurdish female fighters were highly feared by the Islamists who believed they would not go to heaven if they were killed by a woman. Female YPJ soldiers would inscribe bullets with their names to ensure the ISIS fighters knew they had been shot by a woman.