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WASHINGTON (AP) — A missile strike by Iran on Friday has left at least 10 U.S. service members injured and caused damage to multiple aircraft at a Saudi Arabian military base, as reported by two U.S. officials with knowledge of the incident.
According to one of the officials, two of the injured troops are in serious condition. The attack targeted Prince Sultan Air Base, where several U.S. refueling aircraft were damaged, said the officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.
This assault, involving both a missile and drones from Iran, occurred just a day after President Donald Trump declared that Iran had been “obliterated.” Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remarked that “never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralized.”
Prince Sultan Air Base has previously been in the crosshairs. Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, aged 26, was injured in an attack on March 1 at the same base and succumbed to his injuries a few days later. He was among the 13 service members who have lost their lives in the conflict.
Satellite images showing the recent damage to the aircraft have surfaced online. This incident was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Central Command said earlier Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the monthlong conflict. While most of the wounded have recovered and returned to duty, 30 remained out of action and 10 were considered seriously wounded.
The Trump administration offered a 15-point plan for a possible ceasefire to Iran, with Pakistan as an intermediary.
Iran has denied that negotiations are taking place, while its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and roiled the world economy. Tehran on Friday, however, said it agreed to facilitate humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the crucial waterway.
Despite the discussion of talks, the Pentagon is preparing to send at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division — a unit trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields — to the Middle East in the coming days.
The military is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.
Despite thousands of additional troops heading to the region, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States “can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops.”
In terms of the additional deployments, “we are always going to be prepared to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge,” Rubio told reporters after the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in France.