The Pentagon announced Tuesday that two U.S. troops were injured over the weekend—one in Raqqa, Syria; the other near Irbil, Iraq.
Both were reportedly hit by indirect fire and yet the Pentagon hesitated to call it a combat injury, saying it happened “behind the forward line of troops.” The Department of Defense said Tuesday the personnel were not engaged in “active combat” when they were injured, and that the troops were there to advise and assist U.S. allies.
This is the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged the combat injuries of U.S. troops in the fight against ISIS; though they did not reveal what kind of fire injured the troops or the nature of their injuries.
At least three troops have been killed in Iraq since October 2015. There are at least 250 U.S. troops in Syria and more than 5,000 in Iraq.
In the last week, President Obama acknowledged three U.S. troops have died in combat.
—Nancy A. Youssef