Six U.S. service members have been killed in the Iran attacks since the weekend, the U.S. military said.
Three service members were killed Sunday, and five others were seriously wounded by shrapnel, according to U.S. officials.
“The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” U.S. Central Command wrote on X. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”
Then, on Monday, U.S. Central Command announced that the bodies of two other service members were found.
“As of 4 pm ET, March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region. Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” the command wrote on X.
None of the slain service members have been publicly identified yet as next of kin are still being contacted. It was not immediately clear where the troops were killed.
At a Monday morning press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, paid tribute to the fallen service members.
“Our deepest heartfelt condolences are with their families. We will never forget you,” he said.
Caine then noted that the U.S. military strikes in Iran are not a “single overnight operation.”
“This is major combat operations,” he said. “We expect to take additional losses.”
President Donald Trump said he expects there to be additional casualties in a video posted to Truth Social Sunday. “Sadly, there will likely be more… before it ends, that’s the way it is. Likely be more,” he said.
The U.S. and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran at the weekend, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials.
The strikes, named by the U.S. as “Operation Epic Fury”, have prompted Iran to launch a wave of missiles across the Middle East.
Three close American allies, Britain, France and Germany, said they were ready to join forces with the U.S. to stop Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
