Gambiaj.com – (WASHIGNTON, DC) – Two United States service members have been killed and another is missing following an Iranian missile and drone attack on a military base in Jordan, marking the first American combat fatalities directly attributed to Iranian fire since March.
The announcement was made on Saturday by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which said the attack occurred on July 17 as US and partner forces defended against a barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
“Two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing in action,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on social media.
The US military also reported that four additional service members were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan for treatment before being discharged. Several others sustained minor injuries and have since returned to duty.
CENTCOM said it is withholding the identities of the deceased until their families have been formally notified.
Iran Claims Responsibility
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a base used by US forces in Al-Azraq, Jordan.
In a statement, the IRGC claimed the strike, carried out with both ballistic missiles and drones, had destroyed several aircraft at the base. The United States has not confirmed those claims.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid tribute to the fallen troops, writing on X, “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
The White House had not publicly commented on the deaths at the time of reporting.
Rising Death Toll
The latest incident brings the number of US military personnel killed since the conflict escalated nearly five months ago to 16, according to the US military’s casualty records.
Among the previous fatalities were six US Army Reserve soldiers killed in a direct Iranian strike on Kuwait’s Shuaiba port on March 1. Days later, another American soldier died from injuries sustained during an attack in Saudi Arabia.
On March 12, six service members were also killed when a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq. The military said that incident was not caused by hostile action.
Earlier this month, the US Navy suspended its search for a missing service member after a helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea, noting there was no evidence the crash resulted from enemy fire.
Ceasefire Unravels
The latest casualties come as a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran appears to have collapsed, with both sides exchanging fresh strikes in recent days.
The renewed fighting has seen US attacks followed by waves of Iranian missile and drone strikes against targets linked to the United States across the region, including countries hosting American military bases.
Iranian officials said on Saturday that 12 more people had been killed in the past 24 hours, raising the country’s reported death toll in the latest phase of the conflict to 50.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan province also accused the United States of destroying a water desalination plant in a missile strike. The US military had not responded to the allegation by the time of publication.
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