Pentagon denies any move to de-emphasize injuries from Iran attack
WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday there had been no effort to play down or delay the release of information on concussive injuries from Iran's Jan. 8 attack on a base hosting U.S. forces in Iraq, saying such wounds can take longer to identify and have different reporting requirements.
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Thursday's announcement by the U.S. military that 11 U.S. servicemembers were flown out of Iraq for further evaluation was released just several hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper was informed.
"This idea that there was an effort to de-emphasize injuries for some sort of amorphous political agenda doesn't hold water to what the administration has said on the record," Hoffman said, noting that top officials have been clear that Iran sought to kill U.S. troops in its attack. (Reporting by Phil Stewart @phildstewart Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
