The Pentagon says there are 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria, more than double what officials with the Department of Defense have been telling reporters for months.

“We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 U.S. troops deployed to Syria,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. “In light of the situation in Syria, and in significant interest, we’ve recently learned that those numbers were higher.”

Ryder asked to look into the numbers and said he learned on Thursday that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

“It was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission requirements, whereas the core 900 deployers are on longer term deployments,” he continued. “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.”

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The lead spokesman said there are diplomatic and operational security considerations with deployments and the numbers of troops associated with those deployments, as was the case with 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 and ended a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country – and help augment the defeat of ISIS mission.

After learning of the fluctuation in number of troops, Fox News’ Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin pressed Ryder about the correction to the number of troops and timing.

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People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8 in Damascus, Syria.  (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

“This is more than double the number of troops that we’ve been told for quite some time. So, are we talking about this has been going on for months? For Years?” Griffin asked. “Is this something that just happened this summer? We need a time frame.”

“Yeah, I think it would probably be fair to say at a minimum, months,” Ryder said. “I’ll go back and look. But it’s…yeah, it’s been going on for a while.”

The news of additional troops in Syria comes as interest in the region is exceptionally high, especially after the fall of Assad.

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DAMASCUS, SYRIA – MAY 03: Syria’s then-President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, On May 03, 2023, In Damascus, Syria. (Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

Attacks by the Turkish military on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on Dec. 8. In an interview with Fox News this month, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, warned that if his Kurdish fighters have to flee, ISIS would return.

He also said half of his fighters guarding the ISIS camps had to withdraw.

“All of the prisons still are under our control. However, the prisons and camps are in a critical situation because who is guarding them? They are leaving and having to protect their families,” Gen. Mazloum said. “I can give you one example like the Raqqa ISIS prison, which contains about 1,000 ISIS ex-fighters. The number of guards there have diminished by half which is putting them in a fragile position.” 

Fox News previously reported that the U.S. had 900 troops in Eastern Syria, but now that number is about 2,000, and they would likely have to withdraw if the allied Kurdish fighters retreat under attack from Turkey’s military, which views the Kurds as a terrorist threat.

Representatives from Germany, Finland and Denmark have boarded a Chinese cargo ship believed to be connected to the rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in November.

Swedish police and Chinese officials were also part of the inspection of the Yi Peng 3 vessel which is anchored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the visit was supposed to take place on Wednesday but was called off due to bad weather.

“It is our expectation that when the inspection is completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail to its destination,” he told reporters.

The Yi Peng 3 has been anchored in the Kattegat Sea for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed access to the vessel.

Sweden had formally asked China in November to cooperate with the investigation into how the undersea data cables were damaged after the China-flagged vessel was seen in the area.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at the time that it was, “extremely important to find out exactly what happened.”

The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania to Sweden, were both damaged in Swedish waters.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that investigators suspected the Yi Peng 3 had deliberately severed the fibre-optic cables by dragging its anchor along the seabed.

In a post on X, NORSAR, the Norwegian foundation that tracks earthquakes and nuclear explosions, said it hadn’t detected any “seismic signals” in the area, indicating there hadn’t been any explosions.

The Yi Peng 3 has been anchored between Sweden and Denmark where it was being monitored by several vessels, including those belonging to the Danish navy.

“These types of incidents, they annoy all of us, obviously, and those who are interested in safe navigation and safety as such on the Baltic Sea and in countries in the Baltic Sea region,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference in November.

Tusk was referring to separate incidents which saw the Nord Stream pipelines and the Balticconnector damaged.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which carried gas from Russia to Germany, were both damaged in explosions in 2022.

And the Balticconnector gas pipeline was seriously damaged the next year.

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Finnish, Swedish and German authorities all launched investigations into the rupture of the two fibre-optic cables.

Germany’s defence minister said that the damage appeared to have been caused by sabotage.

Chinese authorities in Beijing said they had no information about the ship but denied any responsibility and said Beijing was ready to “maintain communication” with relevant parties.

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