The Pentagon, acknowledging that an accounting system for troops has underreported the size of the forces on the ground, is likely to announce that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Friday.
The U.S. military has said it had around 500 troops in Syria, mostly supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces group of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting the Islamic State group in the north.
Two U.S. officials said the Pentagon could, as early as Monday, publicly announce that there are slightly more than 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. That is not an increase, just a more accurate count.