It is part of a continued effort to fight the Islamic State (IS) group, which has been largely defeated in Syria and Iraq thanks to the support of local forces and a US-led air campaign.

Previously, Washington always claimed to have about 900 troops in Syria to participate in operations against IS. However, in a press conference on December 19, Major General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed that the number of US troops in Syria has now reached 2,000 and that this number has been maintained for at least the past few months.

Mr Ryder said the additional forces were there to support anti-IS operations and were considered “temporary”, not part of wider changes linked to the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December.

The US has stepped up airstrikes against IS targets, especially after rebels seized the capital Damascus on December 8. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the airstrikes were aimed at preventing IS from taking advantage of the chaos to reorganize in central Syria.

In addition, Israel and Türkiye have launched military operations in Syria, with Israel's airstrikes targeting weapons facilities belonging to the former regime, while Türkiye's campaign has targeted US-backed Kurdish forces.

Ngoc Anh (according to AFP, AJ)