Eleven U.S. soldiers were injured in Iranian strikes on American positions in Iraq following the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, the Defense Department revealed on Thursday.
The Pentagon stated at the time of the strikes that there were no American casualties.
“While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,” Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., told reporters. “As a standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate, are transported to a higher level of care.”
Eight service members were flown to Germany for further screening, while three others were transported to an American base in Kuwait and are expected to return to Iraq once finished with medical testing.
“The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual’s medical status,” Urban said.
On January 8 President Trump announced there were no American casualties in the Iranian attacks, and warned Iran that the U.S. would respond if it chose to escalate the situation. “The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it,” Trump insisted.
The Iranian military later admitted the strikes were not designed to kill American troops.
“We did not intend to kill,” said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force. “We intended to hit the enemy’s military machinery.”