Photo by AYMAN HENNA/AFP via Getty Images

The Pentagon on Monday said that 109 U.S service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries as after effects of the Iranian ballistic missile attack on a U.S military base in Iraq last month.

Iran’s attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military general, Qasem Soleimani by the United States on the 3rd of January, 2020.

The number of injuries has been steadily increasing since the Pentagon began releasing data on them about a week after the January 8 attack at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq. Pentagon officials have warned that the number would continue to change.

In a statement Monday, Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah praised medical professionals who provide care which has enabled nearly 70 percent of those diagnosed to return to duty. “We must continue to address physical and mental health together,”she said.