(UnitedVoice.com) – Roughly 900 US service members are currently stationed in Syria to help stop ISIS from growing into a powerful force again. Unfortunately, more than 20 members of the American Armed Forces were hurt in an accident.
On Tuesday, June 13, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh briefed the press about an incident involving an MH-47 Chinook. Initial reports said the helicopter experienced a problem with one of its rotors, and it caused a hard landing during takeoff. However, it was later revealed that the accident happened while the aircraft was “landing at a staging base.”
Twenty-two Armed Forces members in the helicopter were injured in the incident. Ten of them were flown to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for medical treatment. Singh said all of the injured troops were in stable condition. According to Military.com, the hospital in Germany is usually one that serves as the first stop for members of the military who are hurt while deployed overseas.
US Central Command explained to reporters that the 10 troops transferred to Germany needed a higher level of care than what was available to them in Syria. CENTCOM also clarified that there was no indication that enemy fire was the reason for the helicopter’s troubles.
General Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), wished the American troops who were hurt a “speedy recovery.” The Pentagon has not laid out what type of injuries the service members received.
US forces were deployed to Syria in 2015 to help Syrian Forces with ISIS. There are also teams of special forces that enter the country to carry out missions in times of need. Additionally, a number of civilian contractors are stationed in the Middle Eastern nation to lend support to the government forces. Though ISIS has been largely defeated over the years, there are sleeper cells in the country and many terrorists being held in detention centers. The troops also regularly come under attack. In March, 25 US troops were injured in a series of strikes and counterstrikes. One American contractor was killed in that incident.
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