WASHINGTON — Two additional U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict with Iran, bringing the total number of American military deaths to 16, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday.
The latest fatalities occurred in Jordan while U.S. forces were defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. One additional service member remains missing following the attack, the military said.
The identities of the deceased have not been released pending notification of their families.
The latest deaths underscore the widening regional impact of the conflict, with U.S. forces stationed across the Middle East increasingly exposed to attacks despite the absence of American ground combat operations inside Iran.
President Donald Trump has said the military campaign is intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As of Saturday afternoon, the White House had not issued a separate statement on the latest casualties beyond releasing the U.S. Central Command announcement.
The first U.S. fatalities occurred shortly after the conflict began on Feb. 28, when an Iranian drone strike on a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers assigned to a logistics unit.
In March, six more U.S. personnel were killed when a KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft supporting military operations crashed in Iraq following an incident involving another aircraft, according to U.S. Central Command.
Earlier this month, a U.S. Navy pilot was killed in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea during what the Navy described as an emergency landing unrelated to hostile action.
Iranian authorities have said U.S. airstrikes over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500, including eight people killed in a strike on a bridge on Friday.
The conflict has also claimed the lives of civilians, maritime workers and foreign nationals across several countries in the Middle East.
Source: Saudi Gazette