Pentagon unclassified quantity of U.S. troops in Afghanistan

There are currently more than 11,000 U.S. forces deployed in Afghanistan, whereas the Pentagon had previously reported only 8,400, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. told reporters at a press conference at the Pentagon.

Delivering a more transparent number was a priority for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Pentagon spokesman Dana White.

The higher number now accounts for temporary duty personnel, troops assigned to combat support agencies and other forces, including forces that are supporting counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, McKenzie said. Not all of those forces had been accounted for in the Pentagon’s previous official figure, known as the force management level.