Iran and its militia allies say they will respond aggressively in the region if attacked. A U.S. aircraft carrier and warships are approaching the region.
Syria’s government and Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast have clashed as President Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks to extend his authority across the entire country.
The bloody crackdown offers hints about growing tensions inside the country’s ruling system as the cleric’s rule comes under strain.
The U.S. military said it had transferred 150 Islamic State detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq and could eventually move as many as 7,000, as the Syrian government assumes control of the region from Kurdish-led forces.
A Kurdish force that helped defeat the Islamic State is collapsing as the Trump administration turns to back the new Syrian government.
The U.S. envoy to Syria said Washington was confident the Syrian government could take over the country’s fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.
New tensions flared a day after a Kurdish-led militia agreed to hand over control of prisons holding some 8,000 Islamic State fighters to the Syrian government.
The new deal also calls for a cease-fire. Government forces have taken strategic assets from the militia in recent days, weakening the force.
Government troops drew closer to Raqqa, the largest city overseen by the Kurds, raising U.S. concerns about the renewal of a wider conflict in the region.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s announcement on Friday came after days of fighting between the government and Kurdish forces. On Saturday, those forces began withdrawing from a flashpoint east of Aleppo.