SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least twenty-two US service members were injured in a helicopter accident in northeast Syria on Sunday, according to the military.
“A helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria resulted in injuries of various degrees to 22 U.S. service members. The service members are receiving treatment for their injuries and 10 have been evacuated to higher care facilities outside of the CENTCOM AOR,” a statement released by the US Central Command on Monday read.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation, although no enemy fire was reported,” the statement added.
There are about 900 U.S. personnel deployed to Syria, most of them in the east, as part of a mission fighting the remnants of Islamic State. American troops there have come under repeated attacks in recent years by Iran-backed militia.
In March, 25 U.S. troops were wounded in strikes and counter-strikes in Syria, which also killed one U.S. contractor and injured another.
U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration’s campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces.
While Islamic State is now a shadow of the group that ruled over a third of Syria and Iraq in a caliphate declared in 2014, hundreds of fighters are still camped in desolate areas where neither the U.S.-led coalition nor the Syrian army, with support from Russia and Iranian-backed militias, exert full control.
Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America’s key ally in the country.
U.S. officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.
The threats from Iran-backed militia to U.S. forces are a reminder of the complex geopolitics of Syria, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad counts on support from Iran and Russia and sees American troops as occupiers.
