WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One U.S. military service member suffered a minor injury and two others are being evaluated for minor injuries following rocket attacks in Syria on Wednesday by suspected Iran-backed militants, the U.S. military said.
The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said militants staged rocket attacks at two sites in Syria. That triggered a U.S. response from helicopters that, according to initial assessments, killed two or three militants conducting one of the attacks, it said.
The exchange of fire in Syria on Wednesday is just the latest flare-up in Syria, where some 900 American troops are based, and followed U.S. air strikes in the country on Tuesday.
Those U.S. strikes targeted facilities used by Iran-aligned groups, in what was an attempt to deter further attacks against U.S. personnel after an Aug. 15 attack by drones that Washington believes were manufactured in Iran.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler)
