Three US personnel being tested for brain injuries after Syria attack

Three U.S. service members are undergoing tests for potential traumatic brain injury after a strike earlier this week on an American base in Syria.

In a briefing Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the attack occurred near Military Support Site Euphrates, which sits on the east side of the strategically important river in eastern Syria.

U.S. Central Command struck the attacking forces Tuesday , which included three truck-mounted rocket launchers, a tank and mortars. Ryder didn’t say where the three injured U.S. personnel were when attacked or what specific group began the fire.

The strike has become a subject of confusion as Syria’s military bleeds territory to rebels, who belong to a group that was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the U.S. still considers a terrorist affiliate. The Syrian government is reeling this week after losing control of Hama, one of the country’s largest cities and one that sits farther west.

A mix of Iranian-backed rebel groups, Syrian military forces, Kurdish and tribal militias and the U.S. military straddle the Euphrates River. Especially troublesome for the U.S. and its partners are a set of enemy villages controlled that sit on the same side as American forces — an uncomfortable proximity that has led to conflict before.

Ryder didn’t specify whether the initial attack came in response to the U.S. supporting a partnered operation in this area, instead arguing that the subsequent strikes were in “self-defense.”

Videos of A-10 Warthogs flying over eastern Syria added to the uncertainty when they began circulating on social media earlier this week as well. Ryder said one of these planes engaged a separate target in self-defense and continued to say the U.S. is not assisting the Syrian rebels in their flash offensive.

America has around 900 personnel in the country that help lead an international group of countries fighting ISIS. U.S. bases there and across the Middle East have come under increasing fire since Israel’s war began in Gaza last fall. Between Oct. 18, 2023, and Nov. 21, 2024, there were 206 such attacks on U.S. forces in the region, including 125 in Syria alone, according to the Pentagon.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

本周早些时候，美军在叙利亚的一个基地遭到袭击，目前三名美军士兵正在接受脑外伤检查。

五角大楼发言人帕特·莱德少将在周四的简报会上表示，袭击发生在幼发拉底河军事支援基地附近，该基地位于叙利亚东部具有重要战略意义的幼发拉底河东岸。

美国中央司令部周二对袭击部队发动了打击，这些部队拥有三辆车载火箭发射器、一辆坦克和迫击炮。莱德没有透露三名受伤的美军人员在遭到袭击时身处何处，也没有说明是哪个小组先发动了袭击。

这次空袭引发了诸多混乱，因为叙利亚政府军正不断向反政府武装失守，而这些反政府武装曾与基地组织有关联，美国至今仍将其视为恐怖组织分支。本周，叙利亚政府军失去了对哈马的控制权，哈马是该国最大的城市之一，位于叙利亚西部，因此政府军正处于动荡之中。

幼发拉底河两岸聚集着伊朗支持的叛军、叙利亚政府军、库尔德人和部落民兵以及美军。尤其令美国及其盟友感到棘手的是，一些敌对势力控制的村庄与美军位于同一侧——这种令人不安的近距离曾引发过冲突。

莱德没有具体说明最初的袭击是否是对美国支持该地区的合作行动的回应，而是辩称随后的打击是“自卫”。

本周早些时候，A-10“疣猪”攻击机飞越叙利亚东部的视频开始在社交媒体上流传，这加剧了局势的不确定性。莱德表示，其中一架飞机出于自卫攻击了另一个目标，并重申美国并未协助叙利亚反政府武装发动突袭。

美国在该国驻扎了约900名人员，协助领导一个打击“伊斯兰国”的国际联盟。自去年秋季以色列在加沙发动战争以来，美国在该国及整个中东地区的军事基地遭受的袭击日益增多。据五角大楼统计，在2023年10月18日至2024年11月21日期间，该地区共发生206起针对美军的袭击事件，其中仅叙利亚就发生了125起。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。