Washington — New videos obtained exclusively by CBS News show Iranian attacks on a major U.S. military base in Kuwait as the war with Iran kicked off seven months ago. American forces faced ballistic missiles, drones and what witnesses described as Iranian F-5 fighter jets. The footage obtained by CBS News was recorded by a person stationed on the ground at Camp Buehring, and captures the moments of impact and their explosive aftermath.
Damage to buildings and military equipment can also be seen in the videos. The attacks on Camp Buehring offer a window into the strain Iranian attacks placed on American forces during the opening days of the war. CBS News has learned that soldiers defending the base ran critically low on .50-caliber ammunition as some soldiers were repositioned into the Udari Desert in Kuwait.
Two soldiers were injured by lightning there in late April, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. Contacted by CBS News, U.S. Central Command, the primary unit which oversees American military operations across the Middle East, declined to comment.
The Pentagon did not comment, but pointed back to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments on March 4 regarding the removal of U.S. troops from bases and the employment of defensive measures. "As we built up offensive combat power, we moved the vast majority of American troops — over 90% of Americans that were on our bases — what we say off the X, out of the range of Iranian fire," Hegseth told reporters in March. Camp Buehring, or CBKU, sits about 25 miles from the Iraqi border and has for more than two decades served as a major staging ground for American forces deploying across the Middle East.
CBS News authenticated the videos using metadata embedded in the files and compared the footage to other photographs showing damage to the base. Ahead of the war, sources said most of the roughly 7,000 troops there were moved elsewhere — as were the majority of U.S. forces in Kuwait — as a part of the Pentagon's "get off the X" plan, military shorthand for moving away from a position vulnerable to attack. Once the war started, Iranian attacks, some originating from Iraq, repeatedly threatened the installation.
Missiles and drones forced soldiers into bunkers. Three U.S. service members told CBS News that Iranian F-5 fighter jets were also used during the attacks, a detail first reported in April by NBC News. "They ran so close to us I could see their helmets," the eyewitness described.
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