Pentagon officials confirmed that U.S. troops stationed inside Syria were attacked on Tuesday. This marks the 74th attack against U.S. troops in the Middle East since October 17.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed the attack at Thursday’s Department of Defense Briefing.
She said the number of attacks has risen to 74 since October 17th.
Singh said that no injuries or damage to infrastructure was reported.
Iraqi militias began the 74 attacks against U.S. soldiers on October 17 in Iraq and Syria. According to reports, the attacks are linked to U.S. support for Israel’s retaliation after attacking Hamas on October 7.
These attacks did not include missiles fired in the direction of U.S. naval vessels that were ordered to be destroyed by their commanding officers.
The USS Carney, a destroyer of the U.S. Navy, shot down a Houthi drone made by Iran that was launched from Yemen on Wednesday.
The Carney was not damaged and no injuries were reported to any of the U.S. crew members aboard the vessel at the time. It was near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Singh was asked during the briefing why Houthi missiles and drones that were heading towards U.S. vessels weren’t included in the attack count.
She said that drones and missiles are targeted when the commanding officers of those ships believe they pose a danger.
Singh stated that “in terms of the intended target…our first assessment is that the ship was not the target but that they were close enough that, at least, the Carney felt that it needed to engage the drone which was heading its way or heading in the general direction.”
Singh said that she could not tell what the target was, whether it was missiles or drones, but her initial assessment was that it wasn’t the ships.
Singh stated that it is up to the captains of these vessels to take action if they believe they are being attacked or if their crew members are in danger.
