Pentagon investigates suspected ‘insider’ attack

Two military law enforcement agencies are investigating a service member in connection with the April incident at Green Village, a US outpost in northern Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday.

According to the agency, the explosions were initially attributed to shelling, and were caused by someone inside the base. Four soldiers were injured.

“The Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) are conducting a joint investigation into the incident,” CID spokesman Patrick Barnes said in a statement. declare. “We will not be releasing more information at this time.”

The suspect has returned to the US, but his or her name has yet to be released, according to the AP. No accusations have been made.

US bases in Syria and Iraq have come under constant mortar and rocket attacks over the years, which the Pentagon blames on “pro-Iranian” Shia militias. According to initial reports by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operational Inheritance Resolution (CJTF-OIR), the April 7 incident in Green Village was caused by “two indirect salvoes” fired from outside .

A week later, however, US Central Command noted that after further investigation, it believed “an unidentified individual had intentionally placed explosives in an ammunition storage area”.

Security footage from the base showed “a rapidly moving silhouette” through Green Village at the time of the attack during the night, according to CNN. Four soldiers were treated for “traumatic brain injuries” and returned to base at the end of April 2022.

Originally created to coordinate the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, CJTF-OIR is now in charge of approximately 900 US troops in the east. Syria. In the country, they are tasked with supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed militia that controls areas east of the Euphrates River.