Pentagon says it doubled the number of US troops in Syria before Assad’s fall
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has more than doubled the number of its forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group. It’s a dramatic increase that the Pentagon revealed Thursday, acknowledging that the added troops have been there for months or even more than a year. The U.S. has said for years that there are about 900 troops in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, acknowledged there are roughly 2,000 there now. He says the increase is not related to the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad two weeks ago.
