11 US troops hurt by Iran's missile

BAGHDAD — Eleven U.S. military personnel required medical treatment outside Iraq after Iranian missile strikes, defense officials said, reversing earlier assurances from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon that there had been no American casualties.

Eight of the service members are being assessed for concussion-like symptoms after the blasts, said Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman. Three others sought behavioral-health treatment to cope with the bombardment, in which ballistic missiles launched from Iran crashed into Al Asad air base west of Baghdad in waves Jan. 8, Hoffman said in an interview Friday.

Three of t he service members left on a regularly scheduled flight to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on Jan. 10, with the rest leaving Wednesday on a flight to La nd stuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Hoffman said. The destinations were determined based on when their symptoms manifested themselves and when planes were scheduled, he said.

“They all walked onto the aircraft under their own power,” Hoffman said. “These are people who were going to a doctor's appointment to get checked out.”

The U.S. military first acknowledged the treatmen tina statement Thursday night after a media report by Defense One. Navy Capt . Bill Urban, a spokesman with U.S. Central Command, said that “several were treated for con c ussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed.”

“When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening,” Urban said. “The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual's medical status.”

The missile barrage last week against the sprawling air base in western Iraq left deep craters and the crumpled wreckage of living quarters and a helicopter launch site. At least two soldiers were thrown through the window of a tower that was about 15 feet high, U.S. military officials said in interviews.