WASHINGTON — Twenty-two US service members had been injured in a helicopter “mishap” in northeast Syria on Sunday, the US army stated late on Monday, with out disclosing the reason for the incident or detailing the severity of the accidents.
The US army’s Central Command stated 10 service members had been evacuated to higher-level care services exterior the area.
Central Command, which oversees US troops within the Middle East, stated no enemy fireplace was reported however added that the reason for the incident was beneath investigation.
Officials at US Central Command didn’t instantly reply to requests for additional info.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which management swathes of northeast Syria, referred inquiries to the US-led coalition beneath which American troops are deployed within the zone.
The autonomous Kurdish-led administration which governs the realm and the central Syrian authorities in Damascus didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
There are about 900 US personnel deployed to Syria, most of them within the east, as a part of a mission preventing the remnants of Islamic State. American troops there have come beneath repeated assaults in recent times by Iran-backed militia.
In March, 25 US troops had been wounded in strikes and counter-strikes in Syria, which additionally killed one US contractor and injured one other.
US forces first deployed into Syria in the course of the Obama administration’s marketing campaign towards Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
While Islamic State is now a shadow of the group that dominated over a 3rd of Syria and Iraq in a caliphate declared in 2014, a whole lot of fighters are nonetheless camped in desolate areas the place neither the US-led coalition nor the Syrian military, with assist from Russia and Iranian-backed militias, exert full management.
Thousands of different Islamic State fighters are in detention services guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America’s key ally within the nation.
US officers say that Islamic State might nonetheless regenerate into a significant risk.
The threats from Iran-backed militia to US forces are a reminder of the complicated geopolitics of Syria, the place Syrian President Bashar al-Assad counts on assist from Iran and Russia and sees American troops as occupiers. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
