The Pentagon downplayed the Kuwait attack at first, but the real toll is now coming into view

The true severity of an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait that killed six U.S. service members is now becoming clearer, with dozens more suffering serious injuries including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds, and severe burns. As reported by CBS News, early reports did not fully capture the scale of the damage following the March 1 strike.

The attack occurred at a tactical operations center at Shuaiba port outside Kuwait City during the early hours of the war with Iran. Initial reports suggested only a handful of service members were seriously wounded, but officials and medical sources now say the number of injuries was far higher.

The aftermath at the site was chaotic, with smoke quickly filling the building and making rescue operations difficult. Two service members were initially reported missing before they were later found under the rubble.

Dozens of injured service members are still receiving treatment

More than 30 U.S. service members remain hospitalized following the Kuwait attack, with injuries ranging from traumatic brain injuries to severe burns and shrapnel wounds. Some of the wounded are being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, while others are receiving care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Roughly 25 of the wounded are currently at Landstuhl, including about 20 who recently arrived aboard a C-17 military transport aircraft with injuries classified as urgent. The cases include traumatic brain injuries, memory loss, and concussions, and more than 100 additional medical personnel were reportedly sent to Landstuhl to help manage the surge of patients, as questions around Iranian launch activity continued to build.

At least one of the injured may require an amputation, according to officials familiar with the situation. The growing number of serious injuries has drawn attention to how severe the March 1 strike was compared with the initial public description.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the challenges of defending against incoming threats during remarks at the Pentagon last week. He said most attacks are intercepted by air defenses but acknowledged that occasionally a drone or missile can slip through and strike a target, amid separate Pentagon spending scrutiny.

In this case, he said, the weapon hit a fortified tactical operations center, highlighting the destructive potential of the drones being used in the conflict. The military has procedures in place to notify families before the full extent of injuries becomes public. Officials define a serious injury as one that requires medical treatment and where death is possible but not likely within 72 hours.

Beyond the Kuwait strike, a separate attack in Saudi Arabia on March 1 killed at least one American, though the number of wounded in that incident has not been publicly confirmed. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday that about 140 U.S. service members have been injured during the war so far.

Parnell added that most of those injuries have been classified as minor and that 108 service members have already returned to duty, while eight remain listed as severely injured and continue receiving advanced medical care.