Washington: The US Central Command, which is in charge of US forces in the Middle East, has confirmed that 23 US soldiers in Syria sustained traumatic brain injuries during two attacks in March by militants with support from Iran.
In a statement, it stated, "We have identified 11 additional cases of mild traumatic brain injury from the attacks on March 23 and 24 in eastern Syria." "Of those injured, 23 were determined to have mTBI cases. Our medical teams are still evaluating and assessing our soldiers for signs of mTBI.
The strikes and counter-strikes in Syria also resulted in the death of an American contractor and the injury of another, and 25 US troops were hurt.
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During US airstrikes in retaliation against two Iranian-linked facilities in Syria, the Pentagon calculated that eight militants were killed. The diagnosis of brain injuries caused by attacks is not new for US soldiers stationed in the area.
Following an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base in 2020, more than 100 US troops had traumatic brain injuries diagnosed. Separately, a US citizen who claims he was tortured while in custody in Syria has filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC, against President Bashar Assad's administration, demanding answers at a time when Damascus is mending fences in the neighbourhood.
Obada Mzaik, a Syrian citizen who was born in Ohio and was detained upon arrival at the Damascus airport in January 2012—nearly a year into the brutal civil war—said he had hoped to visit family.
Mzaik claimed in a lawsuit that he was placed in a basement cell with about 10 other people, one of whom was a 13-year-old boy who claimed to have endured torture for more than 80 days.
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Mzaik, who was a student in Syria when protests against Assad started, was "brutally and systematically beaten, whipped and threatened with electrocution," the lawsuit claimed.
He was forced to witness other detainees being tortured, including one of his relatives, while being held in inhumane detention conditions, the statement said.
Mzaik claimed that Air Force Intelligence Directorate interrogators "inflicted severe physical and mental pain" while attempting to learn about his friends, contacts, and interactions with the US government in order to "punish him for perceived anti-regime activities."
After his family paid bribes through a middleman, he was freed within a month, according to the lawsuit. After receiving medical care for more than a month, he travelled to Jordan and then the US, according to the report.
Under a US law that states that foreign governments designated as state sponsors of terrorism are exempt from immunity, Mzaik is asking the Syrian government for an undisclosed sum of money as damages.
Despite being sealed since January, the lawsuit was opened this week. According to court records, the Czech Embassy in Damascus, which is the US's representative in the nation, officially informed the government of the lawsuit.
Assad is still very unlikely to pay any damages determined by a court, but the US has previously appropriated and seized Iranian funds as compensation, prompting legal challenges from Tehran's clerical state.
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The Algerian state radio announced late on Friday that the Syrian foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, would travel to Algeria. According to state radio, the visiting minister will be received by Ahmed Ataf, Algeria's foreign minister. Mekdad is anticipated to travel to Tunisia early the following week. On Wednesday, Syria and Tunisia decided to reopen their respective embassies