The survivors of what is described as the deadliest Iranian attack on US forces since the conflict began have challenged the Pentagon’s account of events. The US military officials said that their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed when six service members were killed and more than 20 others were injured in a drone strike.Speaking publicly for the first time, members of the targeted unit gave CBS News a detailed account of the attack and its aftermath. Their statements directly dispute the description given by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had referred to the incoming drone as a ‘squirter’ that slipped through layered defences at a fortified facility.One injured soldier rejected that framing, saying that it misrepresented the situation on the ground.“Painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” one of the injured soldiers told CBS News. “I want people to know the unit was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”The service member, who along with others also said that despite the scale of destruction, soldiers inside the compound acted quickly to save lives.“I don’t think that the security environment or any leadership decision diminishes in any way their sacrifice or their service,” the member of the Army’s 103rd Sustainment Command said in an interview. “Those soldiers put themselves in harm’s way and I’m immensely proud of them, and their family should be proud of them.”The accounts provided the first detailed on-ground description of the March 1 attack at a lightly fortified US facility at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait.
Details of the attack: ‘Everything shook’
According to survivors, the attack unfolded after a series of escalating alerts in the hours leading up to the strike. A crew of around 60 troops had initially taken cover in a cement bunker after incoming missile warnings. Later, an all-clear signal allowed them to return to their workspace, CNN reported. The facility, described by soldiers as a small logistics hub made up of tin structures and concrete barriers, resumed operations shortly before the strike.Then, about 30 minutes later, the drone impact occurred.“Everything shook,” one soldier told CBS News. “And it’s something like what you see in the movies. Your ears are ringing. Everything’s fuzzy. Your vision is blurry. You’re dizzy. There’s dust and smoke everywhere.”He described severe injuries and chaos in the immediate aftermath.“Head wounds, heavy bleeding, lots of perforated eardrums, and then just shrapnel all over, so folks are bleeding from their abdomen, bleeding from arms, bleeding from legs.”During the incident, smoke rose from the building as fires burned through the compound. The strike killed six US personnel and injured more than 20 others. Officials described it as the deadliest attack on US forces since 2021.Survivors said the attack was a direct hit on their operations centre.In the aftermath, soldiers began treating the wounded themselves, using makeshift bandages and tourniquets. Some drove injured personnel to hospitals in civilian vehicles as evacuation teams arrived later.“It was chaos,” another injured soldier said. “There was no single line of patients to triage. You’re on one side of the fire or you’re on the other side of the fire.”“One of the hardest things for me is that I know we didn’t get everybody out, so I know that at this point there are still soldiers inside there that still haven’t been identified and evacuated,” another survivor said.The strike has also raised questions about the deployment strategy of US forces in the region during the wider conflict.Weeks before the attack, many US personnel were reportedly repositioned across the region to reduce exposure to Iranian missile and drone threats. Soldiers described this as a move to “get off the X”, meaning to leave high-risk areas.However, members of the 103rd Sustainment Command said that their unit was moved to the Port of Shuaiba facility, which they described as an older and lightly protected installation.Soldiers said that the site relied on concrete blast barriers designed for mortar or rocket fire, not aerial drone strikes. One described it as having minimal protection.“It’s just kind of a classic, older military base,” one soldier recalled. “Some small barriers. There’s a bunch of little tin buildings where we can set up makeshift offices.”“From a bunker standpoint, that’s about as weak as one gets,” he said.They also said they had concerns about intelligence showing the area could be within Iranian strike range, although they said no clear justification was provided for the deployment.
