Six US military service members have traumatic brain injuries after attacks in Syria
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US General Mark Milley (left) visiting US forces in Syria on March 4, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Six members of the US military in Syria had traumatic brain injuries during two attacks last week by Iran-backed militants, the Pentagon said on Thursday, adding that they were diagnosed during routine screenings in recent days.
The disclosure further raises the human toll among American forces from strikes and counter-strikes in Syria
The attacks also killed an American contractor and injured another.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said four service members suffered traumatic brain injuries at the US base near the Syrian city of Hasaka during a drone attack on March 23.
Two others had injuries at mission support site Green Village during an attack on March 24.
“All personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury. So these additional injuries were identified during post-attack medical screenings,” Brigadier-General Ryder told a news briefing.
The Pentagon also estimated eight militants were killed during retaliatory US air strikes against two Iran-linked facilities in Syria.
Brig-Gen Ryder said the militants killed were not believed to be Iranian but were associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The toll of eight militants is lower than the one reported by a Syrian war monitoring group, which estimated that the air strikes and exchanges of fire killed three Syrian service members, 11 Syrian fighters in pro-government militias and five non-Syrian fighters who were aligned with the government.
President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the US would act forcefully to protect Americans.
The White House said on Monday that the incidents would not trigger a US pullback from its nearly eight-year-old deployment
This is not the first time members of US troops in the region have been diagnosed with brain injuries from attacks.
In 2020, more than 100 of them were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries
Syria’s Foreign Ministry has condemned last week’s US strikes, saying Washington had lied about what was targeted and pledging on Sunday to “end the American occupation” of its territory.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused US forces of targeting “civilian sites”. REUTERS
