Green Berets haul a simulated casualty towards a HH-60 helicopter during a medical evacuation exercise within the 55km deconfliction zone in Syria, May 27, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Howard)
The United States Army identified 11 additional cases of traumatic brain injury as a result of recent strikes by Iranian-backed forces in northeastern Syria, a spokesman for the Central Command announced on April 13.
The announcement further raises the casualties among American troops from rocket and drone strikes in Syria last month to a total of 23 wounded. The strikes also killed an American contractor and injured another.
“Our medical teams continue to assess and evaluate our troops for indications of [traumatic brain injury],” said Colonel Joe Buccino, spokesman for CENTCOM.
Traumatic brain injury, or concussion, can be debilitating. The symptoms include dizziness, confusion, headaches, irritability as well as changes in personality and balance issues.
The confrontation began on March 23, when a suicide drone hit a U.S.-led coalition installation, known as the RLZ base, near al-Hasakah city. The drone attack killed one U.S. contractor and wounded five U.S. service members and another contractor. A shadowy Iraqi armed group that is said to be backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack.
In response, the U.S. carried out retaliatory airstrikes against facilities used by Iranian-backed groups near the government-held city of Deir Ezzor. The attack killed eight fighters, according to the Pentagon.
The next day, March 4, a salvo of rockets was fired on U.S. troops at Mission Support Site Conoco in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, wounding one service member. A short time later, three suicide drones targeted Green Village, another coalition base that is located within al-Omar oil fields in the southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. Two of the three drones were downed by air defenses, while the third damaged a building but caused no injuries.
One week after the attacks, the Pentagon acknowledged that six service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.
The situation in northeastern Syria experienced another escalation on April 10, when a rocket attack targeted Mission Support Site Conoco. The U.S.-led coalition said that its forces in northeastern Syria responded to the indirect fire attack, without providing any details. No casualties were reported.
The U.S. maintains some 900 troops in several northeastern Syria bases and a garrison located in the southeastern area of al-Tanf. The government in Damascus and its allies, who do not approve the deployment, have repeatedly called on Washington to leave the country.
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