Transcript
Three weeks ago, an Iranian missile targeted US troops in Iraq as retaliation for the January 2 drone strike that killed a top Iranian general.
After the attack, President Trump initially said no US service members had been harmed and downplayed the severity of their injuries as headaches from concussions.
But now the Pentagon says doctors have diagnosed 34 US service members with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as a result of the missile attack.
Eight servicemembers were flown to the US from Germany for treatment and nine are still being treated in Germany.
Sixteen returned to duty after being treated in Iraq and one was treated in Kuwait and has returned to duty in Iraq.
Officials say the reason they missed the severity of the soldiers’ injuries is because TBIs are not always apparent immediately after they’ve been suffered.