Iran Press/America: More US service members have been transported out of Iraq for medical treatment and evaluations following Iran’s missile attack on military facilities there, the Pentagon said Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Donald Trump and defense officials initially said no one was hurt.
The Pentagon said Friday that 11 service members required medical treatment outside Iraq. US military officials declined to say Tuesday how many more are receiving care but said “additional” personnel had been sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Washington post reported.
The officials left open the possibility that the number could increase in the coming days.
“The health and safety of all service members are the greatest concern for all Department leadership and we greatly appreciate the care that these members have received and continue to receive at the hands of our medical professionals,” Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a military spokeswoman, said in a statement. “As medical treatment and evaluations in theater continue, additional service members have been identified as having potential injuries.”
Riordan’s statement continued: “These service members — out of an abundance of caution — have been transported to Landstuhl, Germany for further evaluations and necessary treatment on an outpatient basis. Given the nature of injuries already noted, it is possible additional injuries may be identified in the future.”
The injuries surfaced after Iranian forces launched 11 missiles on 8 January at Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad and one into the northern city of Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of Iranian Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The barrage left deep craters and charred wreckage in several locations on the Iraqi base. US officials initially said no service members were killed or wounded, and they signaled that the United States was not looking for additional armed conflict with Iran.
“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties. All of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases,” Trump said soon after the attack.
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