Dozens of US service members in Kuwait suffered serious injuries, including burns, brain trauma and shrapnel wounds, the sources said.
That’s the Iranian drone attack in Kuwait six members of the US were killed at the start of the war with Iran was more severe than previously disclosed, the number of casualties including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and burns, multiple sources told CBS News. At least one may need amputation.
Sources described the horrific and chaotic scene after the strike by tactical operations center of Shuaiba Port outside Kuwait City on March 1. Smoke quickly filled the building, making it difficult to rescue those inside.
More than 30 members of the military remained hospitalized Tuesday night with combat injuries from the attack on Kuwait – one at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, 12 at Walter Reed Medical Center in suburban Washington, DC, and 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, sources said.
Of those, about 20 arrived on a C-17 military transport plane in Landstuhl on Tuesday with wounded soldiers designated as “urgent” and in need of evacuation, including traumatic brain injuries, memory loss and complications, three sources said.
More than 100 medical personnel were sent to Landstuhl to help, one of the sources said.
Defense Department officials initially did not specify how many were injured in the Kuwait attack, but said on March 1 that five were seriously injured and “several others suffered minor cuts and bruises.”
Two members of the force were missing after the attack and were later found under the rubble, sources said.
The Pentagon has a program to notify family members of wounded soldiers and wants to protect them from reading in the press about the extent of the injuries.
The military defines serious injuries as “requiring medical attention, and competent medical authorities say death is possible but not within 72 hours.”
Speaking at the Pentagon last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, explained the strike: “You have air defenses, and more are coming, and you hit most of them. Every once in a while, you may have one, unfortunately, we call it a squirter, that makes its way. And in that particular case, it happens to hit a powerful weapons operation center, but these are made for powerful weapons.”
At least one American was killed in a separate strike in Saudi Arabia on March 1. It is unclear how many others may have been injured in the attack.
On Tuesday, the 11th day of the war, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that about 140 members of the US military have been injured so far, without specifying where or when they were injured.
“The majority of these injuries were minor, and 108 members have already returned to work. 8 members are still listed as seriously injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” said Parnell in a statement.
The military has strong air defenses that protect all US personnel from Iranian attacks, sources told CBS News.
Pentagon spokesmen did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday about the service members’ injuries or where they received help.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article said at least one of the Americans injured in the March 1 attack in Kuwait “required an amputation,” but the person has not. The report has been updated.
