22 US troops injured in Syria helicopter accident, cause under investigation
A recent helicopter accident in northeast Syria has left 22 US service members injured, according to the United States military. The incident, which occurred on Sunday, is currently under investigation to determine the cause. US Central Command confirmed in a statement that no enemy fire was reported at the time of the accident.
“The service members are receiving treatment for their injuries and 10 have been evacuated to higher care facilities outside of the CENTCOM AOR [US Central Command Area of Responsibility],” the US military said in a statement on Monday.
US forces have been operating in Syria since 2015 and have faced sporadic attacks from ISIL (ISIS) fighters and Iranian-backed groups active in the country. At least 900 US soldiers are currently deployed in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of US military contractors, to assist the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their fight against ISIL (ISIS).
In March, Iran and Syria’s governments condemned US forces for carrying out attacks on Syrian soil that reportedly killed 19 people. These attacks were allegedly in retaliation for a drone attack that injured US soldiers and killed a US contractor. The suspected Iranian-made drone killed one US contractor, injured another, and wounded five US soldiers at their base in the northeast of the country near the city of Hassakeh.
The US retaliatory attacks were reportedly conducted by F-15 fighter jets that struck three locations, all in the vicinity of Deir Az Zor, a region in eastern Syria which borders Iraq.
In April, US forces announced that they had killed a senior ISIL (ISIS) figure and two other members of the group in a “helicopter raid” operation in Syria.
