YES, IT’S SERIOUS

Fifty U.S. Service Members Now Diagnosed With Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries After Iranian Strike

The number affected by concussions and traumatic brain injuries keeps rising and is expected to climb further.

Fifty U.S. military personnel have now been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) following an Iranian missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq this month. The number has been steadily rising since the attack, which was carried out in retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The Pentagon said 31 service members were treated in Iraq and returned to duty, while 18 others have been transported to Germany for further evaluation and treatment. One service member went to Kuwait for treatment but has since returned to duty. Some 200 people who were in the blast zone at the time of the attack have been screened for symptoms and the number of confirmed cases may rise further as TBIs are not always apparent immediately. Last week, the Pentagon said the number was 34; the rising toll suggests the impact of the attack was more serious than initial assessments indicated. President Donald Trump said the impact of the attack on soldiers was “not very serious” and that some “had headaches, and a couple of other things,” leading veterans groups to demand Trump apologize, saying his remarks downplayed the severity of TBIs.