WASHINGTON: The number of US troops injured by an Iranian missile strike inIraq this month has risen to 64, according to new figures released by thePentagon.
US President Donald Trump had initially said no Americans were hurt by themissiles fired on a base housing US soldiers in the country´s west onJanuary 8.
Democrats later accused Trump of trying to downplay the injuries.
The American personnel have been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury(TBI), Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in astatement Thursday.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that 50 soldiers were injured in the Iranianstrike on the Ain al-Asad base. The latest total is an increase of 14 onthose numbers.
Read Top Stories
Iran fired on Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for an Americandrone attack that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad,raising fears of war.
Of those diagnosed with TBI, 39 troops have returned to duty, the Pentagonsaid, while the rest have either been sent back to the US, are waiting tobe sent back or are currently being evaluated.
At the time of the strikes most of the 1,500 American soldiers at the Ainal-Asad base were in bunkers, after they were given advance warning fromsuperiors. – APP / AFP
