At least 200 U.S. service members have been wounded while taking part in Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command announced on Monday.
A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command confirmed Monday that at least 200 U.S. troops had been wounded in the nearly three weeks of fighting. Injuries were reported among troops based in the Middle East. According to Central Command officials, the overwhelming majority of wounded have returned to duty, roughly 180. However, 10 service members were reported as having “serious” injuries from Iranian retaliatory attacks in the days since the United States and Israel launched offensives on Feb. 28.
The vast majority of troop injuries are traumatic brain injury-related, Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said Tuesday. However, as Task & Purpose previously reported, formally diagnosing TBIs in the immediate aftermath of an incident can be difficult since symptoms may appear weeks after the fact.
The number jumped from a week ago, when the Pentagon reported 140 troops had been wounded in the war, indicating the pace and intensity of the fighting. Combat operations continue daily, with forces in Middle Eastern countries, at sea, and in the skies taking part in strikes, and Iran continuing to fire back, despite attacks targeting its missile and drone infrastructure.
U.S. officials did not offer a breakdown of which nations the service members were wounded in, the service branch they belonged to or their roles in the conflict. Since the start of the war, Iran has targeted U.S. bases in multiple Middle Eastern countries with attack drones and missiles. Explosions have been seen at or near bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. Officials with Central Command did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries, but ABC News reported that troops have received shrapnel wounds, burns, and traumatic brain injuries.
In the first three weeks of fighting, 13 American service members have died. Six were killed in Shuiba, Kuwait, after an Iranian drone struck an outpost. One soldier died days after being wounded in a March 1 attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. This past week, six airmen died after their KC-135 refueling tanker crashed in western Iraq. Central Command officials are investigating the crash but have ruled out hostile or friendly fire as a cause.
Wounded troops have been moved out of the region and transported to medical facilities in Europe and the United States, including Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Walter Reed Medical Center.
U.S. officials say that American warplanes have hit more than 7,000 Iranian targets since the beginning of the war’s air campaign. According to monitoring groups, more than 1,400 military personnel and civilians have been killed in Iran.
