50 U.S. soldiers left with brain injuries from 8 January Iranian missile attack

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that 50 soldiers were diagnosed with brain injuries after the Iranian missile attack on Ayn al-Asad military base in western Iraq on 8 January.

In a statement, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell, Pentagon spokesperson, said that, “50 U.S. soldiers have been diagnosed with brain injuries, so far. ” The numbers were a “snapshot” in time and subject to change, said the spokesperson. Thirty-one of those wounded soldiers were treated in Iraq and have since returned to active duty.

The spokesman noted that the symptoms included concussive injuries, headache, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and nausea.

The rising number of injuries contrasts with the immediate response of U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior officials who had stated that the Iranian attack on 8 January 2019 had not killed or injured any U.S. soldier.

On 22 January, while in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump remarked that the head injuries were not serious. “No, I don’t consider them very serious injuries, relative to other injuries that I’ve seen,” said Mr. Trump. His comments earned him criticism from veterans’ groups who have been struggling to raise awareness of the seriousness of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) for over a decade.

The Iranian missile barrage was conducted in retaliation for the targeted assassination of top Iranian general, Qassim Soleimani, by an American drone strike outside of Baghdad International Airport on 3 January.