Several US soldiers injured in Iranian missile attack on Iraq base

US soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, Iraq. Picture: John Davison/Reuters

US soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, Iraq. Picture: John Davison/Reuters

Published Jan 17, 2020

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Washington - The US Central Command said Thursday that several

US soldiers were injured in an Iranian missile attack on two bases in

Iraq earlier this month.

"While no US service members were killed in the January 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 US Central Command said.

"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," Urban explained.

In the days following the attack, some service members were

transported from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq to Landstuhl Regional

Medical Center in Germany, while others were sent to Camp Arifja in

Kuwait for precautionary follow-on screening, he added.

"At this time, eight individuals have been transported to Landstuhl,

and three have been transported to Camp Arifjan," the spokesman

added.

US soldiers clear rubble from a site of Iranian bombing at Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar, Iraq. Picture: Ali Abdul Hassan/AP

Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at two bases hosting

US forces in Iraq on January 8. There was no immediate word on

casualties.

Blast walls of the sleeping quarters for US soldiers are seen at Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, Iraq. Picture: John Davison/Reuters

Tehran said the attack was revenge for the killing of a top Iranian

general.

US soldiers stand at the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq. Picture: John Davison/Reuters

Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran's elite Quds force, died in a

US drone strike near Baghdad's airport in early January.

dpa

Related Topics:

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