US says 22 soldiers injured in Syria helicopter accident

According to the US military, a helicopter crash in northeast Syria injured 22 US servicemen, despite no indication of hostile fire during the “mishap.”

Syria helicopter accident: The US military said in a statement on Monday that “the service members are receiving treatment for their injuries, and ten have been evacuated to higher care facilities outside of the CENTCOM AOR [US Central Command Area of Responsibility].”

US Central Command is investigating to determine the cause of the accident that occurred on Sunday in northeast Syria, according to a statement from the command.

The statement continued, reporting that there were no reports of enemy fire at the time of the crash.

Since 2015, ISIL (ISIS) fighters and Iranian-backed factions operating in Syria have occasionally attacked US personnel.

As part of operations to support the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their conflict with ISIL (ISIS), the United States has stationed at least 900 personnel and an unspecified number of military contractors in Syria.

The governments of Iran and Syria publicly condemned the US military actions in March. The US military undertook these actions in retaliation for a drone attack that injured US soldiers, claimed the life of a US contractor, and resulted in 19 deaths on Syrian land. At their base in the northeast of the nation, close to the city of Hassakeh, the allegedly Iranian-made drone wounded five US soldiers, killed one US contractor, and injured two more.

According to reports, the US launched retaliatory attacks using F-15 fighter planes, which reportedly hit three targets close to the neighboring Syrian province of Deir Az Zor in eastern Syria.

In a “helicopter raid” operation in Syria in April, US forces claimed to have killed a top ISIL (ISIS) official and two other members of the organization.