Eight American service members have been severely injured in the 11 days since President Trump began the war on Iran, the Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday.
Iranian strikes have killed seven American troops, and injured 140 U.S. service members overall, the Pentagon said. Of that number, 108 have returned to duty.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor,” Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in the statement. “Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that a seventh American service member had died in the war with Iran. On Monday, the Pentagon identified the service member as Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky.
Sergeant Pennington was seriously injured on March 1 when Iran struck a Saudi military base where American troops were stationed, U.S. Central Command said. He died from his injuries on Saturday night while military health officials were preparing to transfer him to a U.S. military hospital in Germany for more advanced care, officials said.
Sergeant Pennington was assigned to the Space Battalion last June. He was assigned to the 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colo.
On Saturday, President Trump witnessed the return of the bodies of the first six Americans killed in the war, at a solemn ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The six Army Reservists were killed after an Iranian drone strike Sunday at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
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