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Pentagon says the number of US troops in Syria is much higher than previously reported

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The Pentagon says there are 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria, more than double what officials with the Department of Defense have been telling reporters for months.

«We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 U.S. troops deployed to Syria,» Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. «In light of the situation in Syria, and in significant interest, we’ve recently learned that those numbers were higher.»

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Ryder asked to look into the numbers and said he learned on Thursday that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

«It was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission requirements, whereas the core 900 deployers are on longer term deployments,» he continued. «As you know, for many of our deployments, 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, as soon as I found out this information.»

TOP US ALLY, SDF COMMANDER IN SYRIA WARNS OF ISIS RETURN IF TURKISH AIRSTRIKES DON’T STOP

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Pentagon press secretary Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters there are over two times the number of U.S. troops in Syria than previously reported. (Pentagon Live Feed)

The lead spokesman said there are diplomatic and operational security considerations with deployments and the numbers of troops associated with those deployments, as was the case with Syria.

Ryder noted that the troops were in Syria before the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – who fled to Russia earlier this month and ended a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country – and help augment the defeat of ISIS mission.

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After learning of the fluctuation in number of troops, Fox News’ Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin pressed Ryder about the correction to the number of troops and timing.

US GROUP LOOKS FOR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS IN SYRIA AFTER FALL OF ASSAD REGIME

People celebrate in Damascus after fall of Assad regime

People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8 in Damascus, Syria.  (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

«This is more than double the number of troops that we’ve been told for quite some time. So, are we talking about this has been going on for months? For Years?» Griffin asked. «Is this something that just happened this summer? We need a time frame.»

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«Yeah, I think it would probably be fair to say at a minimum, months,» Ryder said. «I’ll go back and look. But it’s…yeah, it’s been going on for a while.»

The news of additional troops in Syria comes as interest in the region is exceptionally high, especially after the fall of Assad.

ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR INSISTS NATION IS ‘NOT GETTING INVOLVED’ IN SYRIAN REGIME CHANGE

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Bashar al-Assad

DAMASCUS, SYRIA – MAY 03: Syria’s then-President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, On May 03, 2023, In Damascus, Syria. (Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

Attacks by the Turkish military on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on Dec. 8. In an interview with Fox News this month, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, warned that if his Kurdish fighters have to flee, ISIS would return.

He also said half of his fighters guarding the ISIS camps had to withdraw.

«All of the prisons still are under our control. However, the prisons and camps are in a critical situation because who is guarding them? They are leaving and having to protect their families,» Gen. Mazloum said. «I can give you one example like the Raqqa ISIS prison, which contains about 1,000 ISIS ex-fighters. The number of guards there have diminished by half which is putting them in a fragile position.» 

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Fox News previously reported that the U.S. had 900 troops in Eastern Syria, but now that number is about 2,000, and they would likely have to withdraw if the allied Kurdish fighters retreat under attack from Turkey’s military, which views the Kurds as a terrorist threat.


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Trump endurece su política migratoria: los 43 países que tiene en la mira para prohibirles el ingreso a Estados Unidos

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Donald Trump está considerando una nueva prohibición de ingresos a los Estados Unidos, mucho más amplia que la que el republicano impuso en su primer mandato presidencial. Abarcaría a más de 40 países, en tres niveles diferentes.

Según el diario The New York Times, que publicó la información citando a varios funcionarios que hablaron bajo condición de anonimato, el borrador con la lista de países incluye a 43 naciones, con tres categorías de restricciones de viajes. Pero esa lista fue redactada hace semanas por el Departamento de Estado, y podría cambiar cuando llegue a la Casa Blanca.

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La categoría roja es la que sufriría una restricción total e incluye a los países cuyos ciudadanos no podrán ingresar a Estados Unidos. Ahí están Afganistán, Bután, Cuba, Irán, Libia, Corea del Norte, Somalia, Sudán, Siria, Venezuela y Yemen.

La segunda categoría es la naranja y ahí aparecen otros 10 países: Bielorrusia, Eritrea, Haití, Laos, Birmania, Pakistán, Rusia, Sierra Leona, Sudán del Sur y Turkmenistán. Los ciudadanos de estos países tendrían los viajes restringidos, pero no suspendidos.

En estos casos, se podría permitir la entrada a viajeros de negocios adinerados, pero no a quienes viajen con visas de inmigrante o turista. Los ciudadanos incluidos en esta lista también estarían sujetos a entrevistas personales obligatorias para obtener una visa.

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Otros 22 países en la categoría amarilla tendrán 60 días para presentar descargos o podrían pasar a las otros dos niveles. La lista la completan Angola, Antigua y Barbuda, Benín, Burkina Faso, Camboya, Camerún, Cabo Verde, Chad, Congo, Dominica, Guinea Ecuatorial, Gambia, Liberia, Malaui, Mali, Mauritania, República Democrática del Congo, San Cristóbal y Nieves, Santa Lucia, Santo Tomé y Príncipe, Vanuatu, y Zimbabue.

Los motivos que los colocaron en esta lista incluyen la falta de intercambio con Estados Unidos de información sobre los viajeros, prácticas de seguridad supuestamente inadecuadas para la emisión de pasaportes o la venta de ciudadanía a personas de países prohibidos.

Algunos de los países incluidos en las listas preliminares roja y naranja ya fueron sancionados por Trump durante las prohibiciones de viaje impuestas durante su primer mandato, pero muchos son nuevos. Algunos comparten características con las listas anteriores: generalmente son de mayoría musulmana o no blancos, pobres, y tienen gobiernos considerados débiles o corruptos.

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Pero algunos no presentan un motivo claro para su inclusión. Un ejemplo es Bután, un país pequeño budista e hindú que se encuentra entre China e India, países que no figuran en las listas preliminares.

La propuesta de restringir drásticamente, o incluso prohibir por completo, la entrada de visitantes procedentes de Rusia plantea un problema diferente. Si bien el gobierno ruso tiene fama de corrupto, Trump ha estado intentando reorientar la política exterior estadounidense hacia una dirección más favorable a Rusia.

En una situación similar se encuentra la decisión de incluir a Venezuela, lo que también podría interrumpir una incipiente distensión en las relaciones que ha sido útil para los esfuerzos de Trump por deportar a migrantes indocumentados.

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En uno de sus primeros actos como presidente tras asumir el cargo el 20 de enero, Trump emitió una orden ejecutiva exigiendo al Departamento de Estado identificar los países «cuya información sobre verificación y selección sea tan deficiente que justifique una suspensión parcial o total de la admisión de ciudadanos de dichos países«.

En esa orden se otorgaba al departamento 60 días para elaborar un informe para la Casa Blanca con esa lista, lo que significa que la lista definitiva debe presentarse la próxima semana.

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Canada’s new PM and Trump critic Mark Carney accused of being out of touch with the ‘common man’

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OTTAWA-Canada’s self-described ‘globalist’ new Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately took aim at President Donald Trump upon winning his party’s leadership contest last week. 

Carney criticized President Trump during his acceptance speech when he won the Liberal leadership last Sunday, saying that Canada’s tariffs against the United States will remain until the Americans «show us respect» and added that Canadians «are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.»

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He also tried to tie Trump to his main challenger. «Donald Trump thinks he can weaken us with his plan to divide and conquer,» while «Pierre Poilievre’s plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered.»

«Because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him.» 

NEW CANADIAN PM BLASTS TRUMP’S 51ST STATE IDEA: ‘CRAZY’

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FILE – Mark Carney, who has served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, speaks at the Sustainable Finance conference, Nov. 28, 2024.  (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Having served as governor of two central banks – of Canada and the United Kingdom – he was also a senior executive at Goldman Sachs and served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. Never elected to any office before, Carney was sworn in on Friday to become Canada’s 24th prime minister. 

He is expected to call an election this week in a bid to keep the Liberals in power, and for him, to win a seat in the House of Commons.

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Count on the official opposition Conservatives, in a dead heat with the Liberals at 37% according to a recent Leger poll, to portray Carney as someone «not connected to the common man» and who has spent a fair amount of time outside Canada, Laura Kurkimaki told Fox News Digital. Kurkimaki served as deputy national campaign manager for the Conservative Party during the last federal election in 2021.

«Over the last five years, while Canadians have been lining up at foodbanks and experiencing a significant cost-of-living increase, he has not been in Canada,» Kurkimaki said.

Seen by detractors as out of touch, Carney, during a recent leadership debate, did not provide an answer when the moderator asked the candidates whether they knew the average cost of a week’s worth of groceries. 

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In an appearance on «The Rest is Politics» podcast last month featuring Alastair Campbell, former British prime minister Tony Blair’s press secretary, and past Goldman Sachs executive Anthony Scaramucci, Carney said that his «weakness is people will charge me as being elitist or globalist.»

MARK CARNEY WINS LIBERAL PARTY NOMINATION TO REPLACE TRUDEAU AS CANADA’S NEXT PM

Mark Carney, then the vice chair and head of transition investing for Brookfield Asset Management Inc., speaks during the United Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and Resilience Forum in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. 

Mark Carney, then the vice chair and head of transition investing for Brookfield Asset Management Inc., speaks during the United Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and Resilience Forum in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.  (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«Well, that happens to be exactly what we need,» he said, adding that he’s also «a pragmatist» and «a leader in crisis.»

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When Scaramucci asked Carney how he would respond to attacks that he is «out of touch with the mainstream, common citizen in Canada,» the new prime minister said that most of his life in Canada «has been in service of Canadians.»

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also targeted Carney, who played hockey at Harvard and Oxford, after he was photographed playing goalie reportedly wearing high-end sneakers.

Leader of Canada's Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, speaks during a 'Spike the Hike - Axe the Tax' rally in Edmonton, on March 27, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On April 1st, fuel prices will rise due to the Federal Carbon Tax increase. Canadians anticipate paying more for gasoline, diesel, and propane starting April 1st. All provincial premiers are concerned about the impact on those already grappling with the cost of living. 

Leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, speaks during a ‘Spike the Hike – Axe the Tax’ rally in Edmonton, on March 27, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On April 1st, fuel prices will rise due to the Federal Carbon Tax increase. Canadians anticipate paying more for gasoline, diesel, and propane starting April 1st. All provincial premiers are concerned about the impact on those already grappling with the cost of living.  (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

«Trying to be a normal guy playing hockey in $2000 shoes,» Poilievre posted on X.

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Kurkimaki said the upcoming federal election campaign with Carney at the Liberal helm could be a replay of the one in 2011 when another «out-of-touch» Liberal leader – historian Michael Ignatieff, who came from the world of academia – lost his House seat, and his party recorded its worst-ever result in a general election that the Conservatives won.

Canada’s new prime minister earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard University and went on to receive master’s and doctoral degrees in economics at the University of Oxford.

WHO IS PIERRE POILIEVRE? CANADA’S CONSERVATIVE LEADER SEEKING TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER AFTER TRUDEAU EXIT

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Mark Carney Launches Campaign For Federal Liberal Leadership

Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, officially announced his bid for the federal Liberal Party leadership at Laurier Heights Community League in Edmonton, Canada, on January 16, 2025.  (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Carney, who lived in the tony Ottawa neighborhood of Rockcliffe Park before becoming prime minister, also holds British and Irish citizenship. Earlier this month, he said that he had begun the process of renouncing both.

Along the way, the man whose looks were once compared to those of actor George Clooney made a fortune at England’s central bank alone. Carney earned $1.3 million, including pay, allowances and housing costs – the highest for the head of any federal reserve at the time.

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However, his current net worth might not be revealed any time soon. Before becoming prime minister, Carney divested his assets, «other than his personal real estate, into a blind trust,» a member of his team told CBC News. Under Canadian law, public-office holders need to divest their assets, such as stock options, either by selling them or having a trustee manage or sell them without, in this case, consulting Carney.

Carney’s spokesperson did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Hamas says American-Israeli hostage will only be freed if ceasefire is implemented

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The Hamas terrorist group said Saturday that it will only release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Alexander, 21, is the last living American hostage in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

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A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Hamas called it an «exceptional deal» aimed at getting the truce back on track, per the official, who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity.

A woman holds an image of hostage Edan Alexander during the Global Day of Unity and Prayer with Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of those taken captive by Palestinian Hamas militants during the October 7 attack. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

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AFTER TRUMP THREAT, HAMAS REFUSES TO RELEASE MORE HOSTAGES WITHOUT PHASE 2 CEASEFIRE DEAL

Hamas is also demanding the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, the official said. 

Hamas on Friday agreed to release Alexander along with the bodies of four other hostages following a deal offered by mediators. He has now been held captive for 526 days as of Saturday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

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It comes as talks are ongoing in Qatar to establish the next phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the first phase of which ended on March 1.

The office of Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, and the National Security Council said in a joint statement that «President Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price.»

Witkoff and Eric Trager, National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, presented a ‘bridge’ proposal to extend the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover and allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene his ministerial team on Saturday to receive a detailed report from negotiators and decide on the next steps for the release of the hostages.

Donald Trump holding photo of Edan Alexander

President Donald Trump is seen posing with a photo of Edan Alexander on Oct. 7, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, a number of rallies are expected to take place throughout Israel on Saturday to demand that all remaining 59 hostages are released, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. The main rallies will take place in Tel Aviv, Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, Carmei Gat and Jerusalem.

Though he spent most of his life in New Jersey, Alexander was born in Israel a few months before his parents moved to the U.S., according to the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

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After graduating from high school, Alexander decided he would enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rather than enroll in college.

On Oct. 7, Alexander, who was serving in the IDF’s Golani Brigade, an infantry unit, was patrolling near Gaza when Hamas’ attacks on Israel began. The attacks ended with 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken, including Alexander.

Hamas terrorists

Hamas terrorists take up positions ahead of a hostage release in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP)

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Yael Alexander, Edan’s mother, recounted the day he was taken hostage in a recent interview with AJC’s «People of the Pod.» Yael was in Israel in early October 2023, visiting her family and hoping to see Edan. On the morning of Oct. 7, she spoke with Edan, who said that he was seeing «terrible stuff,» but he assured her that he was safe. Then he was taken hostage.

On Nov. 30, 2024, more than a year after Alexander was captured, Hamas released a video of Alexander speaking in Hebrew and Arabic. Alexander, like other hostages forced to make propaganda videos, delivered messages about Netanyahu and then-President-elect Donald Trump.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel, Trey Yingst, Rachel Wolf and Stephen Sorace, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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