US says 2 more American victims confirmed in Cuba attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two more U.S. government workers have been confirmed to be victims of invisible attacks in Cuba, the United States said today, raising the total to 24.

The tally has inched upward since the U.S. first disclosed in August that embassy workers and their families in Havana had been harmed by unexplained, mysterious incidents affecting their health.

The Trump administration later said it had determined the incidents were "specific attacks" that are ongoing, but investigators have not yet identified a weapon or a culprit.

The disclosure 24 people have been harmed suggests that nearly half the American government workers serving in Cuba have been attacked. The U.S. had roughly 50 personnel posted to the Embassy in Havana until earlier this month when, in response to the attacks, the State Department pulled out roughly 60 percent of the staff.

Yet some of the victims were spouses of U.S. workers, and several were temporary workers who rotated in to Cuba for short-term stints.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the two additional victims "do not reflect new attacks."

"The assessments are based on medical evaluations of personnel who were affected by incidents earlier this year," Nauert said.

Nauert said the most recent attack is still believed to have been near the end of August. A U.S. official told The Associated Press previously that attack occurred Aug. 21. The official wasn't authorized to disclose the exact date and requested anonymity.