The Pentagon is no longer going to tell the public how many troops are in Iraq and Syria

The Pentagon is no longer going to disclose how many troops are in Iraq and Syria, a sharp departure from an Obama administration policy that kept the public abreast of increased troop deployments to the region.
Though the U.S. military has increasingly deployed conventional ground forces in its fight against ISIS in recent months, to include U.S. Army Rangers and US Marine artillerymen, neither were announced by the Department of Defense.
“In order to maintain tactical surprise, ensure operational security and force protection, the coalition will not routinely announce or confirm information about the capabilities, force numbers, locations, or movement of forces in or out of Iraq and Syria,” Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Times.
The U.S. military seems to be taking on a larger role in the coalition effort to topple ISIS, with special operations forces already in the region being augmented by more traditional U.S. troops. In early March, a convoy of U.S. Army Rangers riding in armored Stryker combat vehicles were seen crossing the border into Syria to support Kurdish military forces in Manbij. The convoy, identified by SOFREP as being from 3rd Ranger Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment, was the most overt use of U.S. troops in the region thus far.

This post was published at Business Insider