50 US troops received brain injuries after Iran strike
January 29, 2020
It was initially believed no one was hurt in the January 8 missile attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq. Fifty US soldiers have been diagnosed with brain injuries, 18 of whom have been treated in Germany.
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The number of traumatic brain injuries caused by the Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base earlier this month now stands at 50, the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday.
The figure has altered dramatically since President Donald Trump said no one had been hurt the day after the attack.
However, Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman, said that 16 more soldiers had received brain injuries. Of all those who suffered them, 31 had already returned to work, according to Campbell.
"As of today, 50 US service members have been diagnosed" with traumatic brain injury, Campbell said in a statement in relation to the attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.
The service members were treated in Iraq or at military health clinics elsewhere, including 18 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the largest US military hospital outside the continental US. There was one soldier who went to the US military hospital in Kuwait for treatment.
At the time of the January 8 strike most of the 1,500 soldiers at the base had been in bunkers and initial fears of casualties were alleviated when President Trump said the nation should be "grateful" that no Americans were hurt.
Tehran said the attack was revenge for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, leader of the Islamic Republic's elite Quds Force, who died in a US drone strike near Baghdad's airport on January 3.
Violence erupts during protests in Iraq
Iraqis ushered in October with anti-government protests in Baghdad. The intermittent violent confrontations have so far resulted in hundreds of injuries and dozens of deaths. Unease remains in several cities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. al Mohammedaw
Protests begin as civilians try to enter government property
On October 1, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad to protest the government. Among their demands were reducing unemployment, providing better services and ending corruption. The demonstrations converged on the centrally located Tahrir Square. The protesters also tried to enter the fortified Green Zone, which houses embassies and government buildings.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. al Mohammedaw
Violent police crackdown
Security forces responded to the protesters attempt to enter the Green Zone by blocking roads and using tear gas, stun guns and water canons. After the demonstrators refused to leave, the forces opened fire with rubber bullets and with live fire. More than 200 were reportedly injured and one died. One other person died and dozens more were injured in related protests elsewhere in Iraq.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Mohammed
Calls for restraint
The embattled Iraqi government has only been in power since October 2018. Following the protests, it increased security in Baghdad. Iraqi President Barham Saleh (pictured above in a photo from March 2019) urged "restraint and respect for the law." The UN's top official in Iraq also expressed "grave concern."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Belaid
More protests, more deaths
Protests continued despite the violence. On October 2, fresh demonstrations broke out in downtown Baghdad. Police, who were at the ready with armored vehicles and riot gear, responded with more live fire. By the end of the day, seven people were killed, bringing the total death count over the first two days of October to nine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Mizban
Protest multiply
The demonstrations and riots also spread from Baghdad to Iraq's south. In some places demonstrators set buildings on fire. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi blamed the violence on "aggressors" and called an emergency national security meeting. While some politicians joined him in criticizing the protesters, others condemned the government's response.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Mizban
More instability ahead
The government issued a curfew in Baghdad and three southern cities as standoffs continued nationwide, including at the airport outside the capital. By the end of October 3, at least 25 people had been killed. The border between Iraq and Iran was closed ahead of a religious pilgrimage to the Iraqi city of Karbala. Iran urged its citizens not to travel to Iraq; Bahrain issued a similar warning.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mizban
Anti-government blogger arrested
Come mid-October, determined protesters set fires and closed streets. Meanwhile, Shujaa al-Khafaji, an Iraqi blogger, had been detained, apparently over his coverage of the unrest. A relative of the outspoken writer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said heavily armed masked gunmen snatched him from his apartment in a dawn raid.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Mohammed
No end in sight as death toll rises
As the month neared its end, there was no conclusion to the angry protests. Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi promised reforms, but still civilians gathered in Baghdad's Tahrir Square waving Iraqi flags and chanting slogans demanding the resignation of the government. More deaths ensued as unrest escalated both in the capital and in the mainly Shiite-populated southern provinces.