U.S. Senate committee warns against reducing reliance on SDF

DAMASCUS, Syria – A U.S. Senate committee praised the role of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS), while warning against shifting reliance from the Kurdish-led force in Syria to the Syrian government in counterterrorism operations.

In a report accompanying the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) published on June 15, 2026, the Senate Armed Services Committee commended the “deep partnership” between the United States and the SDF in Syria in degrading and defeating ISIS.

The committee expressed concern over what it described as “significant risk” in pivoting away from the Kurdish-led SDF, which it said served as Washington’s primary partner in defeating the ISIS caliphate in Syria, and instead relying on the Syrian government to counter ISIS and other terrorist groups that could threaten the United States.

The report directs the U.S. Secretary of Defense to brief Congress by Oct. 1, 2026, on the Syrian government’s performance in combating terrorist organizations and foreign fighters operating inside Syria.

The SDF, backed by the U.S.-led Global Coalition, spearheaded the military campaign that dismantled ISIS’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019. Despite the group’s territorial defeat, its sleeper cells continue to carry out attacks in parts of Syria, prompting ongoing coalition support for local partner forces.