22 US Soldiers Wounded in Helicopter Mishap in Syria

Tue Jun 13 2023
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BEIRUT: Twenty-two US soldiers were wounded in a helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria at the weekend that didn’t involve any reported enemy fire, US Central Command said on Tuesday.

Centcom said in a statement that a helicopter accident in northeastern Syria resulted in wounds of various degrees to twenty-two US service members.

It said that the service members are receiving treatment for their wounds and ten have been shifted to higher care facilities, AFP reported.

It added that the cause of the helicopter incident is being investigated, although no enemy fire was deducted.

The US has nearly 1,000 soldiers deployed in Syria as part of international efforts to fight militants, and periodically carries out attacks targeting militants in the country.

Attacks on US bases

US bases have been repeatedly hit in the previous year, with cells linked to the Islamic State (IS) group claiming responsibility for some of the attacks.

In March, the US carried out air attacks on Iran-linked outfits in Syria after an American contractor was killed in a drone strike on a US-led coalition base near the Hasakeh in northeastern Syria.

The war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at the time that at least nineteen people were killed in the US air attacks.

The conflict in Syria has killed nearly half a million people since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown against anti-government protests, spiralling into a complex battlefield involving foreign militaries, militias and militants.

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