The Pentagon says. There are 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Syria, more than double what Defense Department officials have been telling reporters for months.
“We have been briefing you regularly that there are about 900 US troops stationed in Syria,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. General Ryder told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. “In light of the situation in Syria, and of significant interest, we recently learned that the number was higher.”
Ryder asked to see the numbers and said he learned Thursday that there were about 2,000. US troops in Syria.
“It was my understanding that these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces deployed to meet mission transition requirements, while the core 900 deployers are on long-term deployments,” he continued. “As you know, for many of our deployments, the numbers fluctuate from time to time, but given that this number is significantly higher than what we’ve been briefing, I want to let you know. Yes, as soon as I found out this information.”
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The top spokesman said there were diplomatic and operational security concerns with the deployments and the number of troops associated with those deployments, as was the case in Syria.
Ryder noted that the troops were in Syria before the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – who fled to Russia earlier this month, ending a nearly 14-year struggle to retain power in his country – and the ISI. had contributed to the failure of the SK mission.
After learning about volatility Number of troopsFox News’ Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin pressed Ryder about troop numbers and timing adjustments.
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People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the overthrow of the Syrian regime in Umayyah Square, Damascus, Syria, December 8. (Ali Haj Sulaiman/Getty Images)
“That’s double the number of troops we’ve been told for a long time. So are we talking about this for months? For years?” Griffin asked. “Is this something that just happened this summer? We need a time frame.”
“Yeah, I think it would be fair to say at least months,” Ryder said. “I’ll go back and see. But this…yeah, it’s been going on for a while.”
The news of additional troops in Syria comes at a time when interest in the region is unusually high, especially after the fall of Assad.
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DAMASCUS, SYRIA – MAY 03: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen during the signing of a comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, on May 03, 2023, in Damascus, Syria. (Borna News/ Mateen Ghasemi/ Axonline ATPI Images/ Getty Images)
Turkish military attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on December 8. In an interview with Fox News this month, SDF commander General Mazloum Abdi warned that if his Kurdish fighters had to flee ISIS will return..
He also said that half of his fighters guarding ISIS camps had to withdraw.
“All the prisons are still under our control. However, the prisons and camps are in a critical situation because who is guarding them? They are going and protecting their families,” General Mazloum said. said “I can give you an example like Raqqa ISIS prison, which has about 1,000 prisoners. Former ISIS fighters. The number of guards there has been reduced by half, which is why they are in a critical situation.”
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Fox News previously reported that there were 900 U.S. troops in eastern Syria, but that number is now about 2,000, and if allied Kurdish fighters withdraw as a result of the Turkish military offensive, which exposes the Kurds to a terrorist threat. As seen, they will have to go back.