109 US troops suffer traumatic brain injury after Iran missile attack

Washington, Feb 11 (IANS) A total of 109 US troops were diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury as a result of the January 8 Iranian missile attack on two military bases in Iraq housing American soldiers, the Pentagon said in a statement."As of today, 109 U.S. service members have been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI, an increase of 45 since the previous report," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.Among the injured, 76 were treated and have returned to duty, it added.In addition, 27 troops have been transported to Germany for further evaluation, while 21 returned to the US, the Pentagon noted."This is a snapshot in time and numbers can change," according to the statement.In retaliation for the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in an American drone attack on January 3 in Baghdad, Tehran launched over 13 ballistic missiles on the two military bases in Anbar and near the city of Erbil.The US military initially said that no casualty was reported from the Iranian attack. But President Donald Trump then downplayed the seriousness of those injures.More than 5,000 US troops are deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battle against Islamic State militants.
--IANS ksk/