Once again, the Pentagon has acknowledged that its footprint in the Middle East is bigger than it has claimed for years. In fact, after years of claiming that the total number of service members deployed to Iraq and Syria was about 3,400, the Pentagon acknowledged this week that 4,500 U.S. troops are in the two countries this holiday season.

U.S. military officials had long claimed that 900 American troops were deployed to Syria and another 2,500 were in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led mission to defeat the Islamic State group, or ISIS.

But Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week that the true number of US troops in Syria is close to 2,000. Monday, Ryder confirmed that more than 2,500 U.S. troops are deployed to Iraq, although he did not specify the exact number.

“In Iraq, there are at least 2,500 U.S. military personnel deployed in support of OIR and the D-ISIS mission, plus some additional temporary enablers deployed on a rotational basis,” Ryder said in a statement. “However, due to operations security and diplomatic considerations, we do not have any more specifics to provide.”