Eight US Marines injured in Iranian missile strike in Strait of Hormuz

Eight US Marines were injured on September 14 when an Iranian cruise missile struck the vessel they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz, according to three US officials who spoke to NBC News. The Marines were not seriously injured. The attack had not previously been publicly reported, and the Defense Department did not disclose any attack taking place on September 14 or any injuries sustained.jpost.com+1

The injuries matter because they add to the known toll of US service members hurt in the war with Iran, and because the Pentagon did not announce the strike when it happened. The newly disclosed injuries increased the reported number of US service members hurt in the conflict, bringing the total recorded in the Pentagon's casualty database to 861 as of Wednesday.

What the attack involved

The weapon was an Iranian anti-ship cruise missile that struck a maritime vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The Marines were part of a battalion landing team. Officials did not identify the type of vessel and said the Marines were not aboard a US Navy ship.hindustantimes.com

The mechanism of injury was blast and smoke rather than direct wounds. The officials said the eight Marines sustained smoke inhalation and showed symptoms of concussions, including headaches, raising the possibility of traumatic brain injuries. None of the eight was seriously injured, and all returned to duty shortly after the attack.israelnationalnews.com

Seven of the injured were enlisted Marines and one was an officer, according to officials cited in the reports. The injuries were added to the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, roughly 10 days after the attack. One US official said casualty reporting can be delayed because some symptoms do not immediately emerge and the database does not update in real time.

How the injuries entered the tally

The DCAS figure of 861 US service members injured in the war with Iran as of Wednesday is a baseline that does not include the circumstances of each injury. DCAS does not provide details about where or when the eight Marines were injured. The eight Marines were added to that tally nearly 10 days after the September 14 attack.

The Pentagon has not publicly released details about the vessel, the circumstances surrounding the missile strike, or the extent of the Marines' injuries beyond the information cited. A US Central Command spokesperson declined to comment, and the Defense Department referred questions to CENTCOM. The disclosure arrives amid scrutiny of US casualty reporting in the conflict. At least four service members killed in the Middle East since the start of the war were not represented in the official casualty count. The Pentagon recently reduced its reported number of deaths from the summer after changing how some fatalities were classified.

What the Pentagon has disclosed

The military has disputed claims that it downplays injuries. The US military told CBS that designations including "not seriously injured" and "combat casualty" have specific definitions that have been misconstrued, and an army spokesperson said any assertion that the army seeks to downplay a soldier's injuries is simply not true.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a contested waterway. The US military continues enforcing a naval blockade on vessels attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports through the strait, first imposed in April. An agreement reached in June temporarily suspended the measures, but Washington reinstated the blockade in July after fighting resumed.

One US official said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues attempting to attack ships almost daily, and commercial traffic through the strait has gradually increased after activity had largely stalled. The conflict began in February. No further date for additional disclosure or comment from the Defense Department was given in the reports.