Multiple Injuries Reported in U.S. Troop Ambush in Syria
On Saturday, a senior U.S. official confirmed that American service members were injured in an ambush while on duty in Syria, with some injuries being quite serious. The attack occurred during a joint patrol of U.S. and Syrian forces aimed at combating the Islamic State in the central town of Palmyra.
The Pentagon acknowledged reports of the incident but did not provide further details at this time. Dan Diker, the president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, noted the ongoing involvement of U.S. military and CIA forces in stabilizing the situation in Syria.
As of June, around 1,500 U.S. troops remained in Syria after a series of withdrawals and consolidations by the Pentagon. This number is expected to drop to a few hundred by the end of the year, according to national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin. Currently, the U.S. maintains eight bases in Syria to monitor ISIS activities, though three have been closed or handed over to local forces since operations began in 2014.
In related news, tens of thousands of Syrians recently took to the streets of Damascus to mark one year since the fall of the Assad regime. This anniversary commemorates a significant shift in the country’s dynamics following the ousting of the former dictator, who had ruled for over five decades.
