Two US service members were killed and one is missing in action, US Central Command announced Saturday, marking the first American military fatalities in the Iran war since March, as attacks between the two countries have escalated.
“On July 17, 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 social media post.
Four additional American service members were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan but have since been discharged, according to CENTCOM. Other personnel sustained minor injuries and have returned to duty.
CENTCOM said it will withhold the identities of the fallen soldiers until 24 hours after their next of kin are notified.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the fatalities.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a statement earlier Saturday, claimed responsibility for strikes on a base used by US forces in Al-Azraq, Jordan. The IRGC claimed to “completely destroy” several aircraft in the attack, which it said was conducted with both missiles and drones.
The deaths bring the number of US service members who have died in the nearly five-month conflict to 15.
Six US Army Reserve soldiers were killed March 1 by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port. Days later, an Army sergeant died after sustaining injuriesduring an attack in Saudi Arabia.
The last US fatalities were March 12, when six service members were killedwhen a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, a refueling aircraft, crashed in western Iraq, though the incident was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
The latest casualties come as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US all but collapsed this week as both sides have exchanged fire. Deadly US strikes have been followed by waves of Iranian drones and missiles, with a widening number of targets in countries that host US bases.
Earlier Saturday, Iranian officials said 12 Iranians were killed over the last day, bringing the country’s death total in the war’s latest phase to 50. A deputy governor in Iran’s Hormozgan province said a water desalinization plant had been destroyed in a US missile attack. The US military has yet to respond to the claim.
By CNN
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