The U.S. military says a strike killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif in Syria on Thursday, Dec. 19. It marks a significant step in America’s efforts to prevent ISIS from redeveloping after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad nearly two weeks ago.
The strike came the same day the Pentagon acknowledged the U.S. has roughly twice as many troops in Syria as they previously disclosed. 2,000 U.S. troops are currently in Syria, rather than the 900 U.S. military officials previously said were there.
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A Pentagon spokesperson says the higher number is unrelated to Assad’s fall. The larger presence, he said, is there temporarily to help bolster the U.S. fight against ISIS in Syria.
“Those forces, what they’ve been doing is all focused on the ‘defeat ISIS’ mission,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. “That core 900, approximately 900, those are going to be your longer-term deployers, right? Nine to 12 months, as I understand it, versus temporary forces, which are going to rotate in on a 30 to 90-day basis.”
Ryder said the situation’s sensitivity was why they did not share the number earlier.
Meanwhile, senior U.S. diplomats have traveled to Damascus to meet with rebel leaders. The visits come as U.S. officials hope to bring home U.S. citizens missing in the country, including journalist Austin Tice.
Tice, who would be 43 years old if found alive, went missing in 2012 during the Syrian civil war. Earlier this month, his family said they believe Tice is alive. President Joe Biden expressed hope that it was the case.
The U.S. is still grappling with how to handle the fall of Assad, something it had long hoped for. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group currently in charge, is labeled a terrorist organization under U.S. law.
The State Department has said it could remove that label if HTS shows it can be tolerant and inclusive of religious minorities.
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