Green Berets fire a .50-caliber machine gun from a vehicle during an exercise near At-Tanf in Syria in 2020. (William Howard/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — Eight U.S. service members were treated for traumatic brain injuries and smoke inhalation following a drone attack last week by Iranian-backed militia in Syria as tensions heighten throughout the Middle East, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, said three service members have returned to duty, while the rest remain under observation.
“According to [U.S. Central Command], none of the injuries are life threatening,” he said.
The drone attack occurred at Rumalyn Landing Zone in northeastern Syria and caused damage to one set of facilities at the site. Military officials are still conducting an assessment, but Ryder said the Pentagon believes it was conducted by Iranian-backed militia.
This was the second strike last week. Four U.S. troops and a defense contractor were injured in a rocket attack on Aug. 5 at al Asad Air Base in Iraq.
The attack in western Iraq came after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Aug. 2 ordered additional warships and a fighter squadron to the Middle East to bolster defenses in the region. The decision to move U.S. forces came ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
There are about 900 U.S. service members in Syria and another 2,500 troops in Iraq as part of a coalition fighting to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State.
Austin on Sunday also ordered the USS Georgia, a guided-missile submarine, to the region and told the USS Lincoln to “accelerate” its transit to the area.
The deployments bring the U.S. force to about 40,000 troops in the Middle East, according to a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The movement of forces also comes as the U.S. and other allies push Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza that could help calm soaring tensions in the region.
