US boosted troops in Syria 'before fall of Assad regime,' Pentagon announces

Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria

US President Joe Biden's administration has boosted its troop presence in north-east Syria from 900 to about 2,000, the Pentagon announced on Thursday, in a move it says was made before rebels overthrew the regime of president Bashar Al Assad.

“Many of our deployment 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,” Pentagon spokesman Maj Gen Pat Ryder told reporters, adding the extra troops had been there for at least some months.

“There are diplomatic and operational security considerations oftentimes with our deployments and some of those numbers … I will also highlight that again, as it was explained to me, these forces which augment the Defeat ISIS mission were there before the fall of the Assad regime."

This month, a coalition of opposition forces removed Mr Al Assad in an offensive that swept across Syria in only 11 days.

The updated troop figures show that Washington doubled its force in the country's north-east, where it is in partnership with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their continuing anti-ISIS mission.

Since Mr Al Assad's defeat in Damascus, Israel and Turkey have launched military operations in Syria, including Ankara's offensive against the SDF in the north-east.

The Biden administration sought to end Washington's “forever wars” in the region. In 2021, it conducted the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and moved the US into an advisory role in Iraq. But the administration kept US soldiers in Syria, with administration officials asserting the anti-ISIS mission has been “quite successful, and that’s something that we’ll continue".

News of increased troops also comes as the Biden administration prepares to depart Washington, making way for president-elect Donald Trump to enter the White House next month.

Mr Trump and many of his Republican allies on Capitol Hill have indicated that they do not support a US presence in Syria, because it is “not our fight".

But others, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, have said it is in Washington's security interests to maintain support for Kurdish forces in the north-east to protect against ISIS militants detained in the region.

“There are more than 50,000 ISIS prisoners being held in north-eastern Syria. If chaos in the region leads to an ISIS prison jailbreak, it would be a nightmare for America,” Mr Graham said this week.

Mr Graham was among a bipartisan group of senators this week who threatened to impose sanctions against Washington's Nato ally Turkey if Ankara-backed forces in Syria do not achieve a ceasefire deal with the Kurds in the north-east.

But even those outside the Trump-aligned Republican party have in recent days cast doubt on the partnership with the Kurds, including former president Barack Obama's ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, who said: “YPG-led forces have failed to achieve the enduring defeat of ISIS. After six years, time for an American rethink of strategy."

During his first presidency between 2017 and 2021, Mr Trump tried to withdraw US troops from Syria, but backed down after protests from his former defence secretary Jim Mattis.

At the start of his first term, the Pentagon made a similar announcement that Washington had 2,000 American troops in Syria, “the first time the military has admitted that it deployed well more than the Obama-era limit of 503 troops", Foreign Policy reported at the time.

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips

Rating: 2/5

The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?

Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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Indian origin executives leading top technology firms

Sundar Pichai

Chief executive, Google and Alphabet

Satya Nadella

Chief executive, Microsoft

Ajaypal Singh Banga

President and chief executive, Mastercard

Shantanu Narayen

Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe

Indra Nooyi

Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo

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Brave CF 27 fight card

Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)

Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)

Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)

Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)

Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)

Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)

Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)

Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

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