Middle East
US troops injured in Iranian attack on Saudi base as Marines arrive in region
Stars and Stripes
March 28, 2026
U.S. sailors and Marines aboard the USS Tripoli arrived in the Middle East on Friday. The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed with about 3,500 sailors and Marines, transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets. (U.S. Central Command)
At least 15 U.S. troops were injured Friday in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, including five seriously, the Associated Press reported. The injuries are the latest U.S. casualties in the monthlong U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The strike involved Iran firing six ballistic missiles and 29 drones, according to the Associated Press. At least two U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft were damaged as well as an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Saudi base, located about 60 miles south of Riyadh, is operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force and hosts the U.S. Air Force’s 378th Air Expeditionary Wing.
U.S. Central Command has not publicly commented on the attack and did not immediately respond to a Stars and Stripes request for details.
Iran has repeatedly targeted U.S. positions across the Middle East since the start of the conflict with the United States and Israel, launching missiles and drones at bases hosting American forces.
Six Army reservists with the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command died in a drone attack March 1 at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. Another soldier assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade died from injuries sustained during a March 1 attack on Prince Sultan Air Base. Two weeks ago, six airmen died when a KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in a noncombat incident in western Iraq.
According to the latest CENTCOM count, more than 300 U.S. service members have been wounded, with most returning to duty.
At least 1,900 people have been killed and 20,000 injured in Iran since the war began, Iran’s Red Crescent said Friday.
The U.S. and Israel began bombarding Iran on Feb. 28, saying the campaign was aimed at degrading the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities, among other goals.
President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran on ending the war are going “very well,” though Iran denies this is the case and recently rejected the administration’s ceasefire terms.
The conflict showed signs of widening Saturday, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched their first missile toward Israel since the war began.
The Israeli military said its air defenses intercepted the missile, and no casualties were reported. Houthi leaders said the attack targeted multiple Israeli military sites in the country’s south.
After the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in 2023, the Houthis launched drones and missiles at Israel and targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting a key global trade route.
The world economy has already been strained as Iran has disrupted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for the world’s oil supply.
Trump officials, some of whom have long criticized what they saw as excessive U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, have repeatedly stressed the Iran conflict will be brief.
However, the Pentagon is reportedly considering sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to expand military options in the region.
The potential deployment reportedly could include infantry and armored units and would add to the thousands of Marines and Fort Bragg-based paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division headed to the region.
Sailors and Marines aboard the USS Tripoli arrived in the Central Command area of responsibility on Friday, the command said in a Saturday post on X. The Tripoli is the flagship of its amphibious ready group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The post did not say how many sailors or Marines were deployed, but previous reports indicated more than 2,000 personnel would be involved.