Eight US Marines have sustained injuries after an Iranian anti-ship cruise missile struck a vessel they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz, NBC News reported, citing three American officials.
The Marines were not critically wounded but suffered smoke inhalation and potential traumatic brain injuries after experiencing concussion-like symptoms, including persistent headaches.
The group comprised seven enlisted personnel and one officer, all serving as part of a battalion landing team when the strike occurred on September 14.
All eight personnel returned to operational duty shortly after the attack, officials confirmed.
The officials stated that the targeted vessel was not a commissioned US Navy warship, declining to specify its exact class or flag and identifying it solely as a maritime vessel.
Pentagon casualty reporting
The incident comes amid mounting scrutiny over the Department of Defence's casualty documentation since the US-Israel war with Iran erupted in February, with total figures for wounded and killed service members subject to ongoing adjustments in reporting and classification.
As of Wednesday, the Pentagon's Defence Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) had formally documented 861 US military service members injured throughout the wider conflict.
The eight Marines were registered in the official casualty database nearly 10 days after the September 14 strike.
A US defence official attributed the delay in public accounting to latent symptoms that often manifest days later, as well as the casualty tracking system's lack of real-time reporting capabilities.
