Fifteen American service members were hurt when an Iranian drone hit Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait overnight on April 5 to 6, 2026. Two U.S. officials gave CBS News the figure on April 6. One of them added that most of the wounded were already back on duty.
The base sits about 37 kilometers from the Iraqi border and works as a main hub for American operations in the region, Middle East Eye noted when it picked up the CBS report.
A war that began on 28 February
The strike did not come out of nowhere. A US-Israeli military operation against Iran began on 28 February 2026, and Tehran has answered with drones and missiles aimed at Israel and at sites hosting American forces. On the same morning as the Kuwait report, CBS also logged four people wounded in the UAE and two in Jordan as Iran kept hitting Gulf states.
Iran’s own account came a day later. Press TV said the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps had carried out “the 98th wave of Operation True Promise 4,” going after military aircraft with missiles and drones. The outlet, which is Iranian state media, described the attack as retaliation for the American and Israeli campaign and quoted Iranian forces as vowing to continue “until the enemies’ complete defeat.”
The casualty count in dispute
Fifteen wounded is a small number against the wider tally, if the tally can be trusted. Press TV cited a CENTCOM spokesperson who put the number of U.S. service members wounded since hostilities began at approximately 303. Critics say the true figure is higher. The Intercept reported earlier that “hundreds of US troops had been either killed or wounded in Iranian strikes,” and a defense official quoted in that coverage called the pattern an apparent “casualty cover-up” by CENTCOM.
The CBS report itself rests on two unnamed officials.
Sources
- 15 Americans injured in Iranian attack on Kuwaiti air base (CBS News live updates)
- Iranian Strike Injures 15 US Troops in Kuwait (Press TV)
- Report: 15 Americans wounded in Iranian drone strike on Kuwait base (Middle East Eye live blog)
