CNN  —  The Pentagon announced the US currently has “approximately 2,000” troops in Syria , more than double the previously disclosed number of 900, a Defense Department spokesperson said at a press briefing on Thursday. “There are diplomatic and operational security considerations oftentimes with our deployments and some of those numbers, and [that is] certainly the case here,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, who said that the 2,000 troops are all in Syria to fight ISIS.