WATCH: Pentagon holds press briefing after saying US troop numbers doubled in Syria before Assad's fall

WASHINGTON (AP) The United States has doubled the number of its forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group ahead of the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad's government, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Watch the Pentagon press conference in the player above.

The United States previously said 900 troops were in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said 2,000 were there and had been for some time.

The Pentagon has been asked several times in recent days and weeks about the US presence in Syria and has never revealed this dramatic increase. Ryder said the additional forces have been in Syria for at least a few months and have been going on for some time.

He told reporters the increase in forces was temporary and that they were there to bolster U.S. operations against the Islamic State group. He said the U.S. military's conventional and special operations forces make up the bulk of the additional troops.

Rebel forces overthrew Assad two weeks ago. Since then, Israel and Turkey have both launched military operations within Syria's borders, including airstrikes from Tel Aviv against weapons facilities in the east that belonged to the Assad regime and a Turkish offensive in the northeast against Kurdish forces, who have joined forces with the United States in their campaign. fight against the Islamic State.

The United States has also significantly stepped up airstrikes against IS targets in Syria, fearing that a power vacuum would allow the militant group to reconstitute itself.

Until Thursday, the Pentagon had insisted that the strength of U.S. forces in Syria had not changed, even as questions arose about whether the new instability there was jeopardizing the U.S. mission.

President-elect Donald Trump attempted to withdraw his forces from Syria during his first term, prompting former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign in protest. As he prepares to return to the White House, Trump said he does not support U.S. forces getting more troops. involved in Syria.

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