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US troop numbers in Iraq, Syria could surge under new accounting rules

The Pentagon wants to stop undercounting temporarily deployed fighters and allow for the deployment of more support personnel needed in the war against the Islamic State.
U.S. military and Iraqi army reinforcements deploy after the defeat of the Islamic State militants in Qayyara, Iraq, August 29, 2016. Picture taken August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari  - S1AETYKITNAB

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it would start taking into account temporarily deployed military units when reporting troop numbers in Afghanistan, with updated numbers for Iraq and Syria to follow.

With the change, the US military now acknowledges it has 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, up from a previously reported 8,400. Until now it had only shared force management levels, which account for troops and units meant to complete a mission but do not count the hundreds of personnel temporarily deployed into the fight. 

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