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An Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 U.S. troops on Friday, two of them seriously, and damaged at least two KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft, including one that caught fire.
Officials described as "one of the most serious" breaches of American air defenses in the monthlong war with Iran, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Fox News reported, citing U.S. officials.
The combined missile and drone attack struck troops who were inside a building at the base, the Wall Street Journal reported.
At least one KC-135 air refueling aircraft was hit and caught fire during the strike, according to a senior U.S. official cited by Fox News.
At least two KC-135 refueling planes suffered significant damage in total, officials told the New York Times.
Saudi Arabia has previously intercepted several missiles fired near the base, and a U.S. service member died in an earlier attack at Prince Sultan on March 1.
The 12 new casualties add to a growing total. More than 300 U.S. military service members have been wounded since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, of whom approximately 273 had already returned to duty as of Friday, according to U.S. Central Command.
The Pentagon said about 225 of the injured suffered traumatic brain injuries from missile blasts, and approximately 35 remain unable to return to duty.
Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict, seven as a result of hostile fire and six in a plane crash.
Earlier in the war, six U.S. Army reservists were killed in an Iranian drone strike that destroyed an Army tactical operations center at Shuaiba port in Kuwait.
Iran has bombed U.S. bases across the Middle East throughout the war, deploying ballistic missiles and drones, including cheap, disposable Shahed drones that have at times overwhelmed U.S. air defense networks.
The sustained campaign has severely damaged bases and forced U.S. Central Command to disperse thousands of troops, some as far as Europe, to move them out of the line of fire.
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