The Pentagon has confirmed the presence of 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, significantly higher than the 900 reported in recent months.
Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder revealed the updated figure during a press conference on Thursday, attributing the discrepancy to the deployment of “temporary rotational forces.”
Ryder acknowledged that he was previously unaware of the additional 1,100 troops and indicated the deployment predated the recent upheaval in Syria, which saw the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
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The collapse, driven by the Islamic fundamentalist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has created a power vacuum as various rebel factions, including those backed by U.S. military support, compete for dominance.
“We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 U.S. troops deployed to Syria,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. “In light of the situation in Syria, and in significant interest, we’ve recently learned that those numbers were higher.”
“It was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission requirements, whereas the core 900 deployers are on longer term deployments,” Ryder continued. “As you know, for many of our deployments, numbers will fluctuate from time to time, but given that this number is significantly higher than what we’ve been briefing, I wanted to let you know, as soon as I found out this information.”
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The confirmation comes amid heightened scrutiny of U.S. involvement in Syria, particularly as the region faces growing instability.
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