Despite initial Pentagon reports, several members of the American military were injured in Iran’s recent retaliatory missile strikes over the killing of a top Iranian general.
“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," the U.S.-led military coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria said in a statement Thursday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for follow-on screening,” the statement said. “When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening.”
Defense One first reported 11 service personnel were injured in Iran's missile strikes that came after the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike.
After the Iranian retaliatory strikes, President Donald Trump said Iran was standing down and had targeted military bases with light concentrations of American troops.
Immediately after the attacks, Iranian state television said the strikes killed “at least 80 terrorist U.S. soldiers” and also damaged helicopters, drones and other equipment at the Ain al-Asad air base.
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Asked about the discrepancy in reports, a U.S. Department Defense official told CNN, "That was the commander's assessment at the time. Symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution."
Last week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the initial assessment found only damage to property.
On Friday, Iran's supreme leader led prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing “American clowns” who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their “poisoned dagger” into its back.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises, including his own government's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian commercial jet.
Khamenei said the mass funerals for Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic.
A stampede broke out during Soleimani’s funeral, killing more than 50 and injuring hundreds.
Iran also has arrested an unknown number of protesters who took to the streets following the government’s admission that it had shot down the Ukrainian jet.
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