Iran strike wounds US troops and damages planes at Saudi airbase
A missile launched from Iran is seen on March 1.
Photo: AFP An Iranian missile attack on Friday left at least 10 US service members wounded and damaged several planes at a military base in Saudi Arabia, according to two US officials familiar with the situation.
The attack on Prince Sultan Air Base damaged several US refuelling aircraft, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
One of the officials said two of the troops were seriously wounded.
Satellite imagery that appeared to show the damage to the aircraft was posted online.
The attack was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
The attack, which involved an Iranian missile as well as unmanned drones, comes a day after US President Donald Trump said Iran had been “obliterated” and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralised”.
US Central Command said earlier on Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the month-long conflict.
While most of the wounded have recovered and returned to duty, 30 remain out of action and 10 are considered seriously wounded.
This is not the first time that Prince Sultan Air Base has been targeted by Iran.
Army Sergeant 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.
Hours earlier, Iranian state media said two of the country’s nuclear facilities had come under attack.
Israel, which had threatened to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran, claimed responsibility, and Iran quickly threatened to retaliate. “Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, IRNA reported.
The strikes did not cause any casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said.
The Arak plant has not been operational since Israel attacked it last June.
Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from the raw ore.
Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
The Israeli military later said raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and that the strike was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Isla
原文链接: 南华早报