MADRID Dec. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States Department of Defense reported this Thursday that it has around 2,000 soldiers deployed in Syria, more than double the number it had publicly acknowledged until now, around 900, and has assured that they are “temporary forces that They have been sent to support the mission against Islamic State.
“As you know, we have been regularly informing you that there are approximately 900 US troops deployed in Syria. In light of the situation in Syria and the great interest therein, we recently learned that these numbers were higher, so we called for an investigation “Today I learned that, in fact, there are approximately 2,000 American troops in Syria,” Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said at a press conference.
As he noted, “these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces — 30 to 90 days — that are deployed to meet changing mission requirements, while the 900 primary deployees are on longer-term deployments — nine to twelve months–“.
“I will also highlight that, again as explained to me, these forces, which increase the mission to defeat the Islamic State, were there before the fall of the (Bashar al) Assad regime,” he stated, which took place on December 8 after an offensive by jihadists and rebels.
Ryder has noted that this fluctuation is due to diplomatic and operational security considerations in the region. However, he has not been able to specify since when this change has occurred, limiting himself to acknowledging that it must have been several months ago: “I do not have a specific date to provide, but I understand that it has been happening for a long time. So, clearly, since before the fall of the Assad regime,” he said.
In fact, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that international coalition forces led by Washington have brought new military reinforcements to their military base in Hasaka, including more than 600 trucks with military equipment, heavy artillery and armored vehicles. .
On the other hand, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the international coalition against Islamic State, have expelled several cells of the jihadist group in several cities of the Raqqa governorate during the day, after unidentified armed men entered the area.
“Our SDF Raqqa Military Council has completed sweeping in the towns of Al Sabka, Mada and Zur Shamar, in the southern rural area of Raqqa, to restore security and stability in the region after it was attacked by alleged terrorist cells that fled to the desert,” reads a statement.
The fall of Al Assad, who fled on December 8 to Russia in the face of the dazzling advances of jihadists and rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has raised fears of a possible resurgence of the Islamic State, which could take advantage of the gaps in security after the collapse of the security forces.
In this sense, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG) and supported by the coalition led by the United States, have also warned that the rebels’ offensive against their positions in the areas under Kurdish administration could weaken operations against the jihadist group.
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