Service member charged in connection with explosion at Syria base

The Air Force on Thursday charged a service member in connection with an April explosion on a base in eastern Syria that injured several U.S. troops.

Tech Sgt. David W. Dezwaan Jr. is facing six charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in connection with the explosion at Green Village in Syria, according to a statement from Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

Dezwaan is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) first disclosed the incident on April 7, when it said that coalition forces at Green Village received two rounds of indirect fire that struck two support buildings.

Four U.S. service members were evaluated for minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries following the attack.

A week later, OIR said that the attack was not the result of indirect fire, but instead “the deliberate placement of explosive charges by an unidentified induvial(s) at an ammunition holding area and shower facility.”

The military initially disclosed in early June that a U.S. service member was a possible suspect in the explosion.

The Air Force disclosed later in the month that a U.S. airman had been detained in connection with the incident, CNN reported at the time. The service member’s name was not disclosed, but the outlet reported that the airman’s commander chose to place him in pre-trial confinement.

Dezwaan is charged with dereliction of duty, destroying military property, reckless endangerment, access of a government computer with an unauthorized purpose, obtaining classified information and aggravated assault, Stefanek said.

Updated 2:15 p.m.