U.S. Marines injured in recent Iranian attack

[u/John3262005]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-marines-injured-recent-iranian-attack-rcna600097

Eight U.S. Marines were injured two weeks ago when an Iranian cruise missile attacked the ship they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz, according to three U.S. officials. The Marines were not seriously injured, but they sustained smoke inhalation and possibly traumatic brain injuries, as they had symptoms of concussions, such as headaches, the officials said.

The Marines, seven of them enlisted and one officer, all returned to duty soon after the Sept. 14 attack, the U.S. officials said. The officials said the Marines were operating as part of a battalion landing team during the Iranian anti-ship cruise missile attack.

The Marines were not on a U.S. Navy ship, according to the officials. The officials declined to define what type of ship it was, instead referring to it as a maritime vessel.

The Defense Department did not disclose any Sept. 14 attacks against U.S. forces in the region. The Iranian attack and details of the eight Marines’ injuries have not previously been reported.

A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Defense Department referred questions to CENTCOM when asked for comment.

Since the U.S.- and Israel-led war with Iran began in February, there has been increasing confusion over the number of troops who have been injured and killed, unlike in many other overseas conflicts when data is reported routinely. Just recently, the Pentagon abruptly lowered the number of dead over the summer after it reclassified how some troops had been killed.

The Pentagon maintains a database called the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), which tracks injuries and deaths of U.S. service members. It reports that as of Wednesday, 861 U.S. service members had been injured in the war with Iran. The DCAS added the eight Marines to the list of injured troops assigned to Overseas Operations nearly 10 days after the attack, on Wednesday. One of the U.S. officials said there is often a lag in reporting injuries because symptoms are not always reported immediately and the system itself does not update in real time.

The DCAS does not provide basic information about the eight injured Marines, including where, when or how they were hurt.

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are deployed to the U.S. Central Command area, including two carrier strike groups, the USS George Washington and the USS George H.W. Bush.

The U.S. military continues to enforce a naval blockade of ships going through the Strait of Hormuz if they try to enter or exit Iranian ports. As part of the blockade, the military coordinates with commercial ships to ensure safe passage through the strait via multiple traffic lanes. American forces also continue to shoot down Iranian projectiles and ensure the traffic lanes are free from mines.

The efforts have brought a steady increase in the number of ships transiting through the once-stalled Strait of Hormuz, but Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to try to attack ships nearly every day, according to one of the U.S. officials.