WASHINGTON — The United States has doubled the number of forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State ahead of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The US has previously said there were 900 troops in Syria, but Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, announced there were 2,000 troops there and had been for some time.
He told reporters that the increase in troops was temporary and that they are there to strengthen U.S. operations against the Islamic State.
The Pentagon has been asked repeatedly in recent days and weeks about the U.S. presence in Syria, but has never disclosed the dramatic increase.
Rebel groups overthrew Assad two weeks ago. In the days since, Israel and Turkey both launched military operations within Syria’s borders The Tel Aviv air raids against weapons facilities in the east belonging to the Assad regime Turkey’s offensive in the northeast against Kurdish forces, who are working with the US in their fight against the Islamic State.