US Announces 2,000 Military Personnel Stationed In Syria

Pentagon: "In light of the situation in Syria and the significant interest, we recently learned that those numbers [are] higher, [and that] there are approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria".

PENTAGON - The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that the United States has around 2,000 military personnel stationed within Syria, which is about 1,100 more than previously reported.

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire an M777 Howitzer during a fire mission in northern Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve

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During a press briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, "We have been briefing [the media] regularly that there are approximately 900 U.S. troops in Syria".

"In light of the situation in Syria and the significant interest, we recently learned that those numbers [are] higher, [and that] there are approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria," he added.

He said, however, that 1,100 of those personnel are "temporary rotational forces" which are often deployed to the region for between 30 and 90 days, and to "meet the fluid mission requirements of U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility," according to the Pentagon.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder

The other 900 military personnel stationed within Syria are "core assets", deployed to the region for a longer-term duration, which is typically around a year.

He added that fluctuations in the number of troops in the region are common, and that the additional forces have been in place since before Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted and the rebels took over the country on December 8th.

"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."

He then said, "I will say that there are diplomatic and operational security considerations oftentimes with our deployments and some of those numbers, and it's certainly the case here. But again, given that there is significant interest in Syria, given what we have briefed previously, I wanted to make sure that you had the most up to date information."

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