Pentagon reveals losses in Syria strike
The US has blamed Iran for a drone attack on its base in northeastern Syria.
RT reported on August 14 that, according to the Pentagon, eight US soldiers were injured in a drone attack on their base in northeastern Syria. Initial reports of the attack did not mention casualties.
According to images shared online last week, a drone may have caused a fire at the facility in Rimelan, near the border with Türkiye and Iraq.
Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, revealed the number of casualties to reporters. He said that eight of the affected personnel were treated for “traumatic brain injuries” and smoke inhalation, and three of them have returned to duty.
The US believes "Iran-backed forces" carried out the attack, but the Pentagon is still working to determine which specific militia was behind it, Ryder said.
Initial reports of the drone strike in Rimelan did not reveal casualties, but an unnamed US official told Reuters last Friday that medical assessments and damage assessments were still underway.
According to RT, Rimelan, also known as Rmelan and Rumalyn, is located in Syria’s Hasakah province. In late 2015, the US military took over the Abu Hajar airport and established a base there, called Rumalyn Landing Zone (RLZ). The facility has been used to supply US troops and their Kurdish allies in the fight against Islamic State (IS) terrorists.
According to the same source, since 2014, the US has sent troops and recruited Kurdish militias to take over the eastern part of Syria. Since then, Washington has maintained about 900 troops in Syria, despite opposition from Damascus and violations of international law. The Pentagon has described its mission as "preventing the resurgence" of IS. Meanwhile, the Kurdish militias that control the area with US support have refused to re-enter Syria.