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The US military on Wednesday reported that American troops experienced “minor injuries” from drone attacks in Iraq and Syria last week.
After a deadly Hamas attack on Israeli soil, Israel has retaliated with continuous strikes on Gaza, leading regional militias to consider attacks on those supporting Israel.
Rockets and drones have been launched against bases in Iraq and north-eastern Syria several times over the past two weeks, leading to injuries for at least 21 personnel troops.
The US military has shot down several drones.
“Between October 17 and 18 [Eastern time], 21 US personnel received minor injuries due to drone attacks at Al Asad Airbase, Iraq and Al Tanf Garrison, Syria,” Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder in a statement.
The members returned to duty after receiving care.
“It is important to note in some cases service members may report injuries such as TBI [traumatic brain injuries] several days after attacks occur, so numbers may change,” Brig Gen Ryder said.
US troops have been stationed on bases in Iraq and Syria as part of a global anti-ISIS mission since 2014.
President Joe Biden and US officials have warned of “significant escalation” against US personnel in the Middle East.
“We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against US forces and personnel in the near term,” a senior US defence official said this week.
An Iranian proxy group in Iraq on Tuesday said it would expand attacks on US bases in the region.
Mr Biden issued a warning to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the threats.
“My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond,” Mr Biden said.
Brig Gen Ryder said US Central Command will continue to provide updates on any further injuries.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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