11 US troops injured in Jan. 8 Iran missile attack, reports confirm

WASHINGTON — Despite claims of zero casualties during Iran’s missile attack earlier this month on two Iraqi airbases housing American troops, nearly one dozen U.S. service members were injured during the assault, multiple news outlets reported.

According to a statement issued by U.S. Central Command in the region on Thursday, “several (U.S. troops) were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,” USA Today reported.

“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,” says @DeptofDefense. #Iraq
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 17, 2020

The Hill reported the U.S. troops were airlifted to Kuwait and Germany for treatment of traumatic brain injuries and further testing.

In a national address delivered the morning after the attack, President Donald Trump said, “We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases."

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, where he mocked U.S. officials as “American clowns” and said France, Germany and the United Kingdom cannot be trusted because they are “lackeys” of the United States, CNN reported.

Iran's supreme leader says Western countries are too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees." Addressing Friday prayers for the first time since 2012, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the U.S. https://t.co/pbeZZocKtf
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2020

According to The Associated Press, Iran fired a total of 15 ballistic missiles on Jan. 8 at U.S. military and coalition forces, 10 of which struck the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province, four of which missed their targets and one of which struck a base in Irbil in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.

Iranian officials have confirmed the Jan. 8 strikes were in retaliation for a targeted drone strike five days prior that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.