Several US Troops Injured in Drone Attack in Syria

Several US troops and other members of a US-led coalition were injured in a Friday drone attack on a US base in northeast Syria, Reuters reported on Saturday.

The US military initially said there were no casualties in the attack but later found minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and some personnel are being evaluated for traumatic brain injuries.

No one has taken credit for the attack on the base, known as the Rumalyn Landing Zone. Iraqi Shia militias have launched similar operations against US bases.

On Sunday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said a strike in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province killed five “pro-Iran fighters,” a reference to Iran-allied Shia militias that operate in the area. The SOHR didn’t attribute blame for the strike. Both the US and Israel have a history of launching airstrikes in that area, but neither country has taken credit.

The attack on the US base in Syria came a few days after four US troops and an American contractor were injured in Iraq when rockets hit the Ain al-Asad air base. The attack in Iraq came after US airstrikes killed four members of the PMF, an umbrella group of mostly Shia militias that are part of Iraq’s security forces.

The US has vowed it would respond to the Iraq attack, which could mean more airstrikes. The Iraqi government said it arrested five people in connection to the attack, signaling Baghdad is working to oppose more US strikes on the PMF, which it strongly opposes.

The violence comes amid heightened tensions as the region awaits Iran’s reprisal attack for the Israeli killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. The US has vowed to defend Israel and has deployed more military assets to the region, making it more likely US troops will continue to be targeted.