More US Troops Evaluated After Attack  01/22 06:23

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Additional U.S. troops have been flown out of Iraq for 
closer evaluation of potential concussion injuries from the Iranian missile 
attack of Jan. 8, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday.

   The exact number of troops flown to Germany was not immediately clear, but 
officials said it was a small number. The officials spoke on condition of 
anonymity because some details were still being sorted out. Last week, 11 U.S. 
service members were flown from Iraq to U.S. medical facilities in Germany and 
Kuwait for further evaluation of concussion-like symptoms.

   Navy Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which oversees 
military operations across the Middle East, confirmed the additional 
evacuations but did not say how many were included.

   "As medical treatment and evaluations in theater continue, additional 
service members have been identified as having potential injuries," Urban said 
Tuesday evening. "These service members --- out of an abundance of caution --- 
have been transported to Landstuhl, Germany, for further evaluations and 
necessary treatment on an outpatient basis. Given the nature of injuries 
already noted, it is possible additional injuries may be identified in the 
future."

   As recently as last Tuesday night, President Donald Trump said he had been 
told no American had been harmed in the Iranian missile strike. The question of 
American casualties was especially significant at the time because the missile 
attack's results were seen as influencing a U.S. decision on whether to 
retaliate and risk a broader war with Iran.

   Trump chose not to retaliate, and the tensions with Iran have eased 
somewhat. 

   In the days following the Iranian attack, medical screening determined that 
some who took cover during the attack were suffering from concussion-like 
symptoms.

   No one was killed in the attack on Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq. The 
strike was launched in retaliation for a U.S. drone missile strike that killed 
Qassem Soleimani, the most powerful military general in Iran, on Jan. 3 at 
Baghdad International Airport.


(KR)