“The service members are receiving treatment for their injuries and 10 have been evacuated to higher care facilities,” the statement continued. “The cause of the incident is under investigation, although no enemy fire was reported,” it added.
A brutal civil war has devastated Syria for more than a decade, forcing millions of refugees to flee and causing political turmoil in the region. In 2014, a U.S.-led coalition battled the Islamic State militant group, known as ISIS, and largely extinguished its self-declared caliphate, which took over swaths of Iraq and Syria.
According to a separate Centcom update earlier this month, U.S. Central Command-led coalition forces and partner forces conducted 38 operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in May. Eight ISIS “operatives” were killed as a result and 31 were detained, it said.
“Despite their degraded capability, ISIS remains a significant threat within the region,” said Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the Centcom commander. “Centcom, along with our partners, is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
The past three U.S. administrations have maintained a small contingent of U.S. troops in Syria — about 900 at any given time, augmented by hundreds more contractors — to prevent a resurgence by ISIS militants in the country, thwart Iranian and Russian ambitions and provide leverage for other strategic objectives. U.S. administrations have justified the deployment under the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force, which Congress passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to fight al-Qaeda.
Earlier this month, Kurdish-led authorities, who control much of northeastern Syria, said they would put hundreds of ISIS fighters on trial. Tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been languishing in prisons there for allegedly having ties to the Islamic State. Kurdish authorities and detainees’ relatives have implored governments to accept their citizens back. Citing security concerns, many countries have dragged their feet — or, in some cases, revoked detainees’ citizenship.
Meanwhile, intelligence officials and leaked classified documents have shown that Iran may be arming militants in Syria for a new phase of lethal attacks against U.S. troops in the country, The Washington Post reported earlier this month. Such attacks could constitute an escalation of Tehran’s long-running campaign of using proxy militias to launch rocket and drone strikes on U.S. forces in Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was recently welcomed back into the Middle Eastern fold, attending an Arab League summit at the invitation of Saudi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The welcome extended to Assad angered many Syrians.
Joby Warrick, Evan Hill and Claire Parker contributed to this report.
