ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four Americans were injured in an indirect fire attack targeting a military base housing the US-led coalition forces fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in eastern Syria, marking the third attack this year on the foreign troops in the area.
Indirect fire targeted the Green Village installation hosting coalition forces in Deir ez-Zor province, leaving four US service members injured, the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant said in a tweet late Thursday night.
The service members are being treated for minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries, the force added, noting that the incident is under investigation.
The Green Village site is located within areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), north of the Euphrates River with the regime forces operating across the river. ISIS militants also remain active in the province.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The offense comes hours after three Katyusha rockets, landed in Kawergosk oil refinery in Erbil. The attack was launched from al-Hamdaniyah district, where the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) have a strong presence.
There have been 10 rocket and drone attacks against sites housing American forces in Iraq and Syria this year, according to data compiled by Rudaw English. Western officials have blamed Iranian-backed Iraqi militias and factions, for the attacks, which have never been claimed.
Earlier in January, US forces foiled a rocket attack targeting the Green Village base, a day after the coalition said the base was targeted by eight rounds of indirect fire.
A US official said on Tuesday that military presence in Iraq and Syria would be maintained to fight the continued threat posed by ISIS and Iran-backed proxies, noting that "Iran is the leading source of instability in the region."
Earlier in the year, the Pentagon reiterated its concern about the continuous attacks on bases hosting American forces in Iraq and Syria, saying their troops remain in a “dangerous” environment surrounded by uncertainties regarding their safety and self-defense.
Coalition troops switched to a training and advisory role with the end of their combat mission in Iraq in December.
Establishing its so-called caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, ISIS was defeated in Iraq in 2017 by national forces and the coalition, which included more than 80 countries.
The terror group, however, still carries out attacks against security forces and civilians.
