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Number of US Troops With Traumatic Brain Injuries From Iran Missile Attack Increases to 50

© US Army/Spc. Derek MustardMedia outlets visit one of the many impact sites created by the recent missile attacks at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 13, 202
Media outlets visit one of the many impact sites created by the recent missile attacks at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 13, 202 - Sputnik International
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A new report citing the US Department of Defense revealed that an estimated 50 US military personnel were diagnosed with either traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a concussion following the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) January 8 strike in Iraq.

"As of today, 50 US service members have been diagnosed with TBI," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell said, according to CNN

This report is a 16-service member increase from last week's count of 34 injured personnel given by department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. Of the 16 newly identified cases, only one service member has been removed from Iraq. 

"Of these 50, 31 total service members were treated in Iraq and returned to duty, including 15 of the additional service members who have been diagnosed since the previous report. 18 service members have been transported to Germany for further evaluation and treatment," Campbell added.

Last week, US President Donald Trump made light of the various levels of brain injury endured by the service members. 

“I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report it is not very serious,” he told reporters while in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, as reported by The Guardian. “I don’t consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries I have seen. I’ve seen people with no legs and no arms.”

The US president has since received backlash from Veterans of Foreign Wars, which called for Trump to extend an apology to US service members "for his misguided remarks." 

On January 8, the IRGC carried out Operation Martyr Soleimani and struck Ayn al-Asad airbase in Western Iraq and another facility in the Iraqi city of Erbil in retaliation for the killing of of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Though no injuries to US personnel were initially reported in connection to the strike, the Pentagon's Tuesday announcement is the third update on injuries sustained by American troops.

Pentagon sources told CNN that additional diagnoses may be reported in the coming days, as approximately 200 troops were in the blast zones of the strikes. 

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