US troops injured in Iran missile strike rises to 50: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, Jan 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The number of US troops injured by an Iranian missile strike in Iraq this month has risen to 50, according to new figures released by the Pentagon on Tuesday.

The personnel have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI),
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a
statement.

The military had said on Friday that 34 troops were injured in the strike
on the Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq on January 8.

President Donald Trump had initially said no Americans were hurt by the
missiles, and Democrats later accused him of trying to downplay the injuries.

Iran fired on Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for an American
drone attack that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad,
raising fears of war.

Campbell said that of the 50, 31 were treated in Iraq and returned to duty
while 18 were being evaluated in Germany. Another was transported to Kuwait and has already returned to duty, he said, adding that the numbers could still change.

At the time of the strike most of the 1,500 US soldiers at the base had
been in bunkers, after advance warning from superiors.