U.S. soldiers prepare to provide security during a patrol in Syria on Oct. 29, 2024. (Daniel Andrews/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — Three U.S. service members are being evaluated for possible traumatic brain injuries after rockets and mortars were fired in the direction of American troops in Syria, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“As you know, those numbers can fluctuate. I’m not aware of any other injuries at this time. Again, we’ll not hesitate to take appropriate action and protect our forces if they are threatened,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman.
The attack happened Tuesday near Military Support Site Euphrates, a U.S.-led coalition base in eastern Syria. U.S. forces subsequently attacked and destroyed several weapons including rocket launchers and a tank operating near the area. Ryder has described the U.S. response as an act of self-defense.
Ryder declined to say whether the troops were on the base when they were injured.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, is still assessing who was behind the attack, but Ryder noted there are Iran-backed militia groups in that area.
Ryder told reporters Monday that there was a rocket attack against “one of our facilities in Syria,” though no U.S. personnel were injured and no infrastructure damage was reported. U.S. forces also conducted a self-defense strike near MSS Euphrates on Nov. 29, taking out a potential threat to the U.S. base, he added. No U.S. injuries or infrastructure damage were reported in that incident.
The 13-year civil war in Syria reignited last week as rebel forces led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, launched an attack on the city of Aleppo and moved into the countryside around Idlib. The Syrian military and its foreign allies rushed reinforcements and launched airstrikes as they attempted to stall their momentum, the Associated Press reported.
The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.
“The U.S. has no role in what’s happening right now in terms of northwestern Syria and HTS,” Ryder reiterated Thursday.
American forces in Syria are part of a U.S.-led coalition in that country and Iraq working to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State. About 900 U.S. service members and an undisclosed number of contractors are operating in Syria, where they support local Kurdish forces. An additional 2,500 American troops are in Iraq.
U.S. bases in the region have been prone to attacks since the surprise attack in October 2023 by Hamas militants on Israel. The Pentagon last month said U.S. forces had been attacked 125 times in Syria and 79 times in Iraq since the Hamas attack.
