The U.S. military is preparing to report a more than 50 percent jump in the number of cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran's missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday.
Gavino Garay has more.
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EXISTING GRAPHICS MAY BE OVERWRITTEN BY CLIENT'S OWN GRAPHICS BUT NO FURTHER EDITS ARE PERMITTED, INCLUDING FOR LENGTH.*~ More than 100 U.S. service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as a result of the January 8th missile strikes by Iran on an Iraq base housing U.S. troops.
That's according to a Reuters' exclusive Monday, that said the U.S. military is preparing to report a more than 50 percent jump in the number of cases.
The Iran missile strikes came in retaliation of the U.S. killing a top Iranian military general.
Last month, the Pentagon said that 34 American service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following the missile strikes.
Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, later downplayed the severity of the injuries at a news conference at the Pentagon.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ARMY GENERAL MARK MILLEY, THE U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, SAYING: "The diagnosis we have so far for all of the folks that have been diagnosed to date is 'mild' traumatic brain injury." The news of those injuries appeared to diverge from what U.S. President Donald Trump and other officials said immediately after the strikes - which was that no U.S. service members were killed OR injured.
Trump also downplayed the reports of injuries, drawing criticism from lawmakers and veteran groups.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "No, 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.
No very serious-- " Iraqi officers stationed at the base told Reuters loss of life was prevented because staff began moving personnel and weaponry into fortified bunkers hours before the attack.
Symptoms among those injured include headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and nausea.
According to Pentagon data, about 408,000 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury since 2000.
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