Middle East|22 U.S. Troops Are Hurt in Helicopter ‘Mishap’ in Syria
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/world/middleeast/syria-helicopter-us-troops.html
The military provided few details about the accident, saying the troops had sustained “injuries of various degrees.”
Twenty-two U.S. soldiers were injured in a helicopter accident in northeastern Syria, the military said on Monday. It said it was investigating the cause of the incident, which it called a “mishap,” adding that no enemy fire had been reported.
The troops sustained “injuries of various degrees,” the military’s Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said in a brief statement that was posted on Twitter. Ten of them were evacuated to hospitals outside the region for treatment, according to the statement, which said the accident had happened on Sunday. Central Command officials did not immediately provide additional information.
Hundreds of American troops and contractors are based in Syria. The troops work with Kurdish fighters to prevent a resurgence of the militant group Islamic State, which was ostensibly defeated as a self-declared caliphate in 2019, after five years of wreaking havoc across Iraq and Syria.
In March, a U.S. contractor was killed and six other Americans were injured when Iranian-backed militias launched a volley of rocket and drone attacks against coalition bases.
Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.
Vivek Shankar is a senior staff editor on the International desk. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News in San Francisco, Sydney and Washington. @vivshank
