PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 28th, 2026: Eight U.S. Marines Injured in Iranian Missile Attack & RAF Fairford Investigation Widens

Mike Baker (0:12)

It's Monday, the 28th of September. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new reporting reveals that eight US Marines were injured when an Iranian anti-ship missile struck a US-contracted vessel in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. Now, I'll have the details. Later in the show, new details in the suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford as investigators examined whether the men arrested were acting on behalf of a foreign state. Oh, and not to bury the lead, all five men are being released on bail. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

Nearly two weeks after an Iranian missile struck a US contracted vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, we're now learning that eight American Marines were aboard that ship and all eight of them were injured. According to NBC News, citing three US officials, the Marines were operating as part of a battalion landing team when an Iranian anti-ship cruise missile hit their vessel on the 14th of September. Seven of the Marines were enlisted personnel, one was an officer. None of the injuries were described as life-threatening. The Marines reportedly suffered smoke inhalation and concussion-like symptoms. All eight have since reportedly returned to duty. Now we did know that Iran had hit a US contracted vessel. Two days after the attack, Fox News reported that a ship operating around the Strait of Hormuz had been struck during an Iranian attack involving four drones and at least one missile.

Sources said some US personnel were aboard and that there had been minor injuries, including smoke inhalation. What we didn't know was who those American personnel were. We now know that they were Marines and apparently every Marine aboard the ship was hurt. But there are still some significant unanswered questions here. For one, we still don't know exactly what kind of vessel these Marines were operating from. NBC's sources say it was not a US. Navy ship. Fox described it earlier as a US contracted vessel, but neither CENTCOM nor the Pentagon has publicly identified this ship, explained its mission or said why a Marine Battalion landing team was aboard. We also don't know whether the Iranians knew that Marines were on that vessel when they launched the attack. There's also another piece of the story that surfaced before NBC's latest report. Last week, The Washington Post noticed that the Pentagon had quietly added another 37 wounded service members to its public casualty database from the Iran conflict. That included 29 sailors and 8 Marines. The Pentagon did not publicly explain how or when those troops had been injured, and CENTCOM declined to combat when the Post asked about the increase. Defense officials have said that there can be delays in adding casualties to the database, particularly when we're talking about concussions or traumatic brain injuries, because the symptoms don't always appear immediately. So, there's no evidence at this point that the Pentagon deliberately concealed those injuries. But it does mean that almost two weeks after this attack, we're still learning basic details about an incident in which an Iranian missile struck a vessel carrying American troops. The Strait of Hormuz, of course, remains at the center of the confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Iran continues to use control of the strait as leverage. The US has, of course, tried to break that leverage. Meanwhile, American forces are still operating in and around those waters.

The September 14th strike does raise questions that remain unanswered today. What exactly was that vessel doing? Why were marines aboard? And perhaps, more importantly, to what extent does the Iranian regime still maintain the ability to target US forces and commercial shipping operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz?

Coming up next, the RAF Fairford Mirror investigation that we reported on this morning continues, with police now examining whether the suspects may have been linked to Iran or another foreign government, and as the suspects are reportedly released on bail. I'll be right back.

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