The United States of America has finally opened up on the plight of its soldiers in Iraq after the January 8 missile attacks by the Iranian military.
Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement on Thursday that 11 soldiers of its troops were treated for symptoms of concussion after the missile attack targeted an Iraqi base where US forces were stationed.
This came after the US military had initially said that no service members were hurt in the attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a facility in its northern Kurdish region.
Iran on January 8 attacked the US base in Iraq in retaliation for America’s drone strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
US President Donald Trump and the US military had said there were no casualties.
“While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on al-Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,” Captain Urban said, according to Al Jazeera.
“As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for follow-on screening .
“When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq.”
