Pentagon says there are 2,000 US troops in Syria, more than double previously acknowledged

WASHINGTON (AA) – The Pentagon has said that there are 2,000 US troops in Syria, more than double the number it had previously acknowledged.

Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that in addition to the 900 troops that were deployed to Syria on a longer-term basis to aid in counter-Daesh/ISIS operations, 1,100 others were sent on a “temporary” basis to help “meet shifting mission requirements” in the anti-Daesh/ISIS fight.

“A certain element of this also goes into diplomatic and operational security concerns as it relates to the region. But again, given the difference in the number that we’ve been providing, I made the decision to go ahead and give you that number,” he told reporters.

The troops are predominantly comprised of conventional and special operations forces from the US Army.

Asked by reporters how long the additional troops had been in Syria, Ryder said “at a minimum, months.”

“It’s been for a while, so clearly before the fall of the Assad regime,” he said, referring to this month’s collapse of Assad family rule in Syria. He maintained that the increase is temporary.

The US dramatically increased strikes against the Daesh/ISIS group in the wake of ousted President Bashar Assad’s fall in a bid to prevent it from attempting to fill the power vacuum left in the wake.