A senior official in the U.S. confirmed reports of multiple injuries among American service members following an ambush in Syria on Saturday. The injuries are said to vary in severity. Local Syrian officials had previously indicated to Reuters that a convoy comprising U.S. and Syrian troops, engaged in operations against the Islamic State terrorist group, was targeted while conducting a patrol in Palmyra, a central town in Syria.
The Department of War has acknowledged awareness of these reports but stated that they have no additional information to provide at this moment. Experts note that U.S. forces, alongside the CIA, have been heavily involved in stabilizing Syria’s security environment. Recently, Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, emphasized this ongoing involvement during a discussion with Fox News Digital.
As of June, approximately 1,500 U.S. troops were stationed in Syria, a number that is anticipated to reduce to several hundred by the year’s end. Fox News Chief National Security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that the U.S. maintains eight military bases in Syria for the purpose of monitoring ISIS activities. However, three of these bases have been either closed or handed over to the Syrian Democratic Forces since the initial U.S. military engagement that began in 2014 aimed at preventing ISIS from establishing a caliphate.
In a related note, large crowds gathered in Damascus to commemorate the first anniversary of the Assad regime’s collapse. This significant event marked a year since former dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the capital amid a rapid offensive by rebel forces, which ended over five decades of rule by the Assad family and ushered in a new chapter in Syria’s tumultuous history.
