Four US Troops Wounded in Eastern Syria Rocket Fire

All four suffered minor injuries

Four US soldiers were reported to have sustained minor injuries Thursday from “indirect fire” in eastern Syria. The four were evacuated for further evaluation and to see if they suffered brain injuries.

The attack hit the tiny “Green Village” base near the Omar oilfield. A pair of rockets hit two support buildings on the base. It’s not clear if this was a deliberate attack, or incidental rocket fire from something else going on in the area.

This was the first time the Green Village was hit by rocket fire since January. The tiny base was meant to allow the US to maintain control over the oil in the area. It is so small it rarely comes up as an issue, though in practice it would be difficult to defend if it came under sustained attack.

It’s unclear who fired the rockets, though in this part of Syria there are a few possibilities. The US tends to blame Iran for such incidents, though two stray rockets hitting support buildings hardly speaks to an attempted attack.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.