Pentagon says it doubled the number of US troops in Syria before Assad’s fall

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States doubled the number of forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group before the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The U.S. has previously said 900 troops were in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, announced that 2,000 were there and had been for a while.

He told reporters that the increase in forces was temporary and they are there to augment the U.S. operations against the Islamic State group.

The Pentagon has been asked repeatedly in recent days and weeks about the U.S. presence in Syria and never disclosed the dramatic increase.

Rebel forces overthrew Assad two weeks ago. In the days since, Israel and Turkey have both launched military operations inside Syria’s borders, including Tel Aviv’s airstrikes against weapons facilities in the east that belonged to Assad’s regime and Turkey’s offensive in the northeast against Kurdish forces, who have partnered with the U.S. in its fight against the Islamic State.

Lolita C. Baldor And Tara Copp, The Associated Press