Senior US officials arrived in Damascus on Friday for the first diplomatic mission to the Syrian capital since the fall of former president Bashar Al-Assad’s government earlier this month.

The US delegation, led by Barbara Leaf, the senior State Department official for the Middle East, is expected to meet with members of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) armed group, according to a State Department spokesperson. The group is acting as the de facto government in Syria.

The first #US formal delegation to enter #Syria is holding talks with #HTS‘s leaders in #Damascus. The delegation is led by US top diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf. pic.twitter.com/cIIxYeNwok

— Bassam Bounenni بسام بونني (@bbounenni) December 20, 2024

Those discussions are expected to focus on “expectations for a transition to an inclusive Syrian government and the hope to uncover information about the fate of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Earlier, 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.

“As I understand it, and as 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,” Ryder said on Thursday.

Source: Agencies