10 minutes agoUS has twice as many troops in Syria as it had declared
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)The Pentagon said Thursday it has 2,000 troops in Syria. That figure is more than double what he had previously declared, of 900 soldiers. According to the Pentagon, additional troops were considered provisional and sent to support the mission against Islamic state militants. Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder was [...]
According to the Pentagon, additional troops were considered provisional and sent to support the mission against Islamic state militants.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told reporters he did not know how long this number had been 2,000, but added that it probably was a couple of months and before Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's fall from power.
“I learned that number myself today. As someone who stood before you and told them 900, I wanted you to know the figure we have on this case.”, said Mr. Ryder.
The United States had said publicly for several years that they had 900 troops in Syria working with local forces to prevent the revival of the Islamic State, which in 2014 invaded large parts of Iraq and Syria but had managed to back off.
President Joe Biden's administration has said American troops will stay in Syria, however, President-elect Donald Trump could dismiss them after taking office on January 20th.
