#Four US troops injured in collision with Russian vehicle in Syria

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A convoy of US troops head toward the Iraqi borders in northeastern Syria.
EPA

Four US soldiers were reportedly injured in northern Syria this week after their vehicle collided with a Russian military vehicle.

Footage of the collision circulating online shows US and Russian vehicles racing through an arid landscape as a Russian helicopter hovers overhead.

Some accounts say the Russian vehicle rammed the American one. Footage appears to show the US vehicle steering into the path of the oncoming Russian vehicle.

According to Politico, a draft statement by US Central Command says four Americans suffered mild concussion-like injuries. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.

President Trump has repeatedly said he will withdraw US troops from Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State group’s physical caliphate, but about 500 Americans remain after Mideast policy hawks including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) persuaded him to leave a residual force to guard oil facilities.

In March 2018, Trump said, “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now.” In October 2019, Trump ordered the pullout of US troops before a Turkish attack on US-allied Kurds and pressure from Republican allies led him to leave some troops.

Russian troops allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad helped squash Islamist rebels in most areas of the country and turned the tide in favor of Assad in the 10-year civil war. The recent confrontation with US troops comes as Russia and the Syrian government reimpose control over the formerly US-dominated northeast of the country.

Trump is routinely described by Democrats as soft on Russia, which he denies. In a 2018 clash, US troops killed up to 300 pro-Assad fighters including Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group when they approached US positions in northeast Syria.

Trump has described the Syrian Civil War as a distant conflict that doesn’t require US involvement.

“I will say this: that Russia, Iran, Syria, and to maybe a slightly lesser extent, Turkey, they all hate ISIS as much as we do,” Trump said last year. “And it’s their part of the world. We’re 7,000 miles away. I campaigned on bringing our soldiers back home, and that’s what I’m doing.”