US troops killed; at least 17 sites damaged in Iran's reprisal attacks: Report

A recent analysis has revealed that Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes on American military installations and other assets across West Asia have damaged a number of sites and killed US troops.

“A recent analysis has revealed that Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes on American military installations and other assets across West Asia have damaged a number of sites and killed US troops”

PressTV

According to data compiled by The New York Times, at least 17 US sites and installations across the region have been damaged since the US and Israel launched a large-scale military aggression against Iran on February 28.

PressTV

The assessment relies on high-resolution commercial satellite images, verified social media videos and statements from American officials and Iranian news media.

The intensity and scale of the Iranian strikes suggest that Tehran had prepared for the military aggression more than officials in President Donald Trump's administration had believed.

The Times report noted that Iran targeted several major US military facilities on the first day of the war.

These included Prince Sultan airbase, Ali al-Salem airbase, Camp Buehring and al-Udeid airbase, which serves as the largest American base in West Asia.

PressTV

According to satellite images reviewed by the Times, damage to buildings and communications infrastructure could be seen at several of these locations.

A video taken on March 1 showed an Iranian drone exploding near facilities at Camp Buehring in Kuwait.

Though there were no reports of casualties at Camp Buehring, other reprisal attacks did lead to casualties.

A drone strike on March 1 hit a structure accommodating military personnel at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait, killing six American soldiers, the report added.

Another US trooper was killed in a separate Iranian attack on March 1 at a US base in Saudi Arabia, pushing the death toll to seven.

Some US bases have been targeted multiple times.

“A recent analysis has revealed that Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes on American military installations and other assets across West Asia have damaged a number of sites and killed US troops”

PressTV

Al-Udeid airbase, Ali al-Salem airbase, al-Dhafra airbase, Camp Buehring and the headquarters of the US Navy Fifth Fleet have all been hit more than once.

Iran has also struck American air defense and communications infrastructure across West Asia.

The report highlighted that the financial damage from Iran's retaliatory strikes is also substantial.

A Pentagon assessment submitted to Congress forecast that a single Iranian attack on the headquarters of the United States Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain on February 28 caused about $200 million in damage, according to a congressional official.

PressTV

Among the costliest losses have been components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, which uses powerful radar to track and intercept incoming threats.

Satellite images reviewed by the newspaper showed severe damage to apparently an air defense sensor located near the southern edge of Muwaffaq Salti Airbase.

Military documents show a single radar unit of this type can cost up to $500 million.

A separate video from February 28 showed an Iranian drone pounding the headquarters of the United States Navy Fifth Fleet in the Bahraini capital of Manama, purportedly damaging a communications radome.

Moreover, satellite images showed damage to storage structures at the al-Ruwais facility in the United Arab Emirates, where a THAAD unit had previously been deployed.

Satellite imagery also showed possible damage to a long-range AN/FPS-132 radar near Umm Dahal in Qatar.

The system is built at a cost of about $1.1 billion to provide early-warning coverage across a radius of roughly 3,000 miles.