Iranian attack on Saudi base injures 15 US troops

The base, which is about 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force but also used by U.S. troops.

By The Associated Press

The number of American service members wounded in the Iran war has grown beyond 300, with more than two dozen troops injured this week from attacks on a Saudi airbase.

Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base in an attack Friday that injured at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to two people briefed on the matter.

U.S. officials initially reported that at least 10 U.S. troops were injured, including two who were seriously wounded.

The Saudi base had come under attack twice earlier in the week, including an incident that injured 14 U.S. troops, according to the people, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In the other attack, no one was injured but a U.S. aircraft was damaged.

The base, which is about 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force but also used by U.S. troops.

The installation has been targeted almost since the beginning of the war, which on Saturday reached the one-month mark.

Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was wounded during a March 1 attack on the base and died days later. He is one of the 13 service members who have been killed in the war.

Six of the fallen were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait.

Another six died when their refueling plane crashed in Iraq following an incident with another aircraft that the U.S. military said was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday regarding the American casualties at the Saudi base.

Central Command said Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the war. Most have returned to duty, while 30 remained out of action and 10 were considered seriously wounded.