On January 8, Iran fired missiles at an Iraqi airbase. US troops were given advance notice to take cover, and President Trump insisted there were no casualties. On Friday the 17th, the Pentagon confirmed that wasn’t exactly true.



While there were no deaths, 11 US servicemen were sent abroad for treatment related to concussions sustained in the attack. On Tuesday, Pentagon officials said that the number was actually higher than 11, with additional troops flown to Germany for treatment.



The Pentagon is now refusing to say how many US troops were sent for treatment overall, saying that beyond the 11 previously reported, they are getting treatment in Germany on “an outpatient basis.”



The Pentagon has denied that their lack of reporting on casualties was in any way an attempt to downplay them, and that Defense Secretary Esper only learned about casualties Friday, when the Pentagon went public with them. There has been no justification for why these new casualties weren’t included then, nor indeed why the Pentagon is refusing to provide exact numbers anymore.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz