WASHINGTON: Eight US service members were injured in a drone attack on a base in Syria last week, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, its first report of specific casualty figures in the incident.
Reuters first reported that several US and coalition personnel were wounded in a drone attack on Friday at Rumalyn Landing Zone, which hosts troops from the US and other countries in the US-led coalition.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that three personnel had already returned to duty. The eight troops were treated for traumatic brain injury and smoke inhalation.
The US says its 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq are advising and assisting local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swaths of both countries but was later pushed back.
Ryder added that the US believed that the attack was carried out by Iran-backed forces, but the Pentagon was working to determine which one.
Eight US troops injured in Syria drone attack last week, Pentagon says
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Eight US troops injured in Syria drone attack last week, Pentagon says
- Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that three personnel had already returned to duty
- The eight troops were treated for traumatic brain injury and smoke inhalation
50,000 perform Ramadan Taraweeh prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque
- Worshippers gather amid heightened tensions in occupied West Bank
- Hundreds of Jerusalemites ordered not to enter mosque during holy month
LONDON: About 50,000 Palestinian worshippers performed the Isha and Ramadan Taraweeh prayers on Sunday evening at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem.
The crowds gathered despite Israeli military checkpoints and strict identity checks at the mosque’s gates, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Palestinians are observing the Muslim holy month, which began on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank, including attacks by settlers and raids and arrests by the Israeli army.
More than 300 Jerusalemites recently received Israeli orders prohibiting their entry to Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, the Wafa news agency reported.
Israeli forces have increased their military presence in Jerusalem and restricted access to the mosque for children under 12, men over 55 and women over 50.
Since Wednesday, thousands of Palestinians have lined up to pass through military checkpoints, including at Qalandiya and Bethlehem, in the hope of attending prayers at Al-Aqsa.
