Pentagon claims 11 US soldiers wounded in Iraq, refutes Trump’s declaration

Reports from Middle East have claimed that about 11 US troops were wounded in Iran missile attack.

Photos leaked from inside the Al-Asad base, in Anbar Province, after the Iranian missile strike, in retaliation for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad proved the claim that 11 US soldiers were wounded.

Refuting US President Donald Trump’s claim that no US soldiers were harmed in Iran’s retaliatory attack over the assassination of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, the Pentagon has now revealed that at least 11 troops were wounded in the missile attack on the Ain Al-Assad airbase in the Anbar province.

The airbase is one of the bases used by the US in Iraq, which were struck resulting in significant damage.

“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties,” posted Trump on Twitter, a day after the 8 January attack codenamed ‘Operation Martyr Soleimani’, by the Iranians.

This week, the troops were flown to Germany and Kuwait, to be treated for traumatic brain injuries after experiencing concussion symptoms. Central Command spokesman, Captain Bill Urban, announced in a statement, that “While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed.”

Spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Colonel Myles Caggins, stated: “When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening. The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual’s medical status.”

It was reported that at the time of the attack, most of the 1,500 US soldiers stationed at the airbase had taken refuge in bunkers, following advance warning from superiors.

Tehran is believed to have given Iraqi authorities prior notice before launching the missiles. There were soldiers from other nationalities present too, including some from Denmark, who have since been relocated to Kuwait.

However, Iranian sources have consistently maintained that there were US fatalities and casualties from the immediate aftermath of the incident, claiming that at least 80 US troop members died and hundreds have been wounded, reporting that nine planes had airlifted the injured to hospitals in Jordan, Israel and a military hospital in Baghdad.