The Defense Department announced that the number of American troops in Syria has been doubled to support the fight against ISIS, with roughly 2,000 troops currently deployed. This increase predates the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. The Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, stated that the increase was not in response to recent events such as the fall of Assad’s regime or the search for missing journalist Austin Tice. The additional troops are focused on defeating ISIS and preventing its regrouping, with most of them being Army soldiers. The number of U.S. forces in Syria may have been intentionally underreported in the past. A core group of 900 troops are on longer-term deployments while an additional 1,100 have rotated in temporarily. Ryder mentioned that he only recently discovered the actual number of troops in Syria, which is why it was disclosed now. The timing of the troop increase is not specified, but Ryder indicated it had been ongoing for months. The announcement was made due to significant interest in the situation in Syria.
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Pentagon reveals that the amount of U.S. troops in Syria has doubled
