US Central Command has revealed that eleven personnel stationed at an Iraqi air base which came under a retaliatory attack by Tehran earlier in January had to be sent out of the country after displaying concussion symptoms.
“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,” Navy Captain Bill Urban said in a statement on Thursday.
Upon initial examination, eight troops were flown out of the war-ravaged country to a medical facility in Germany for further checks, while three others were taken to Camp Arifjan, a US army installation in Kuwait.
The temporary removal of the troops was taken “out of an abundance of caution,” Urban said, refusing to divulge any more details about the condition of the servicemen or the extent of their injuries.
“The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual’s medical status,” he said, noting that the servicemen are expected to return back to duty upon additional screening.
The base in Iraqi Kurdistan found itself under fire by two volleys of ballistic missiles launched from Iran after a US drone strike near Baghdad on January 3 killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, the elite Quds Force commander who played a major role in beating back Islamic State terrorists in both Syria and Iraq. His assassination has inflamed tensions between Washington and Tehran, and drew a harsh rebuke from Baghdad, prompting the Iraqi parliament to pass a resolution ordering the US troops to leave the country.
Immediately after the attack by Iran, which was reported to have incurred extensive but pinpointed damage on the facility and resulted in no casualties, US President Donald Trump declared that “all is well,” with the Pentagon likewise saying that early warning systems at the base alerted the troops, who wasted no time in seeking shelter.
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