Pentagon Has Not Disclosed Dozens of Injuries to U.S. Service Members in Iran War: Report

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The Pentagon did not publicly disclose that dozens of U.S. service members were injured in a series of Iranian strikes in Jordan before an attack that later killed two American soldiers, according to a report published on Monday.

Iran launched three separate attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan during the week before Friday’s deadly strike, injuring dozens of troops and damaging several helicopters, according to The New York Times.

Multiple U.S. officials anonymously told the paper the incidents were never publicly acknowledged by the Pentagon.

U.S. Central Command has not held a major briefing on the war since early May, the newspaper argued, while officials have also stopped regularly reporting the number of Iranian targets struck and have ceased updating the cumulative total of American personnel wounded during the conflict.

One U.S. military official told The Times that Central Command is not required to release information about injured service members, particularly those who quickly return to duty.

Another official argued publicly revealing details about attacks could help Iran improve the targeting of ballistic missiles and drones aimed at U.S. bases across the Middle East.

The Times noted that previous administrations routinely delayed identifying wounded personnel until families had been notified but generally disclosed overall injury totals following attacks on U.S. forces.

The deaths of two Army soldiers in Jordan on Friday, along with another service member killed in northern Iraq, brought the number of U.S. military personnel killed since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28 to 17.

In a statement issued after Friday’s attack, Central Command said four wounded American service members had been treated at hospitals in Jordan before being discharged, adding only that more troops sustained minor injuries and had already returned to duty.

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