Roughly 186 troops have been injured or killed in attacks on U.S. personnel in the Middle East since mid-October. Of those, 130 have been traumatic brain injuries, the Pentagon confirmed on Monday.
That means TBIs resulting from the blast impacts of missiles, mortars and drones make up 70% of the total number of casualties, which include three soldiers who were killed in the Jan. 28 attack on Tower 22 in Jordan.
“We do expect that number to continue to fluctuate as our service members ... with TBI report symptoms later on,” Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters during a Jan. 29 briefing. “So, that number could continue to grow.”
The number of troops injured in Iran-backed militia attacks more than doubled following the Tower 22 incident, according to numbers provided by the Defense Department.
The most recent injury data follows a Pentagon report on Feb. 5 that there were roughly 80 injured personnel overall. Of those, 40 stemmed from the Jordan attack, with eight requiring transportation out of the country for medical treatment.
As of Tuesday, there have been 170 attacks on U.S. troops since mid-October, Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon Garry, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed to Military Times.
That number has held steady since Feb. 4, Singh confirmed Tuesday, representing one of the longest pauses in attacks since the barrage began in the fall.
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The lull coincides with a series of retaliatory U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria, targeting militia facilities and leadership. The Pentagon announced Thursday that roughly 40 militants had been killed in the strikes.
The most recent attack targeted a vehicle carrying a high-ranking member of Kataib Hezbollah, the group responsible for the Tower 22 attack and dozens of other strikes.
That group told its members via Telegram message on Jan. 30 to cease targeting U.S. troops.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
