Six U.S. service members killed after Iranian strike hits Kuwait base
CENTCOM says six U.S. troops died after an Iranian missile struck a Kuwait facility; three U.S. jets were also downed in a friendly-fire incident that is under investigation.
U.S. Central Command said at 4:00 p.m. ET Monday that six U.S. service members have been killed in action after a facility in Kuwait was struck during Iran’s initial retaliatory attacks, and that U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted-for service members. The command said major combat operations continue in the region and that identities are being withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notifications are completed.
The toll evolved over the weekend. An earlier CENTCOM release reported three service members killed and five seriously wounded during the initial strikes. U.S. officials later said a fourth service member who had been seriously wounded succumbed to injuries, and the recovery of two sets of remains raised the total to six. Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the troops were part of an Army sustainment unit based in Kuwait.
The events in Kuwait also included the downing of three U.S. F-15E fighter jets late Sunday in what CENTCOM described as an apparent friendly-fire incident. Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down the jets amid active combat, CENTCOM said. All six aircrew ejected safely, were recovered and are in stable condition, and Kuwait has acknowledged the incident and opened an investigation.
The strikes followed a round of U.S.-Israeli attacks across Iran earlier in the campaign, which Iranian forces answered with aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones across the region. The U.S. military has referred to the joint operation as Operation Epic Fury. Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of further losses, saying, "We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize losses."
President Donald J. Trump pledged that the United States would "avenge" the deaths of American troops, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at a Monday briefing, "As the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties," and "War is hell and always will be."
Iranian sources provided contrasting casualty claims for strikes inside Iran. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 555 Iranians had been killed since the start of U.S. and Israeli attacks, and Iranian officials claimed the dead included the supreme leader and family members and that more than 168 schoolgirls were killed in a direct hit on a school. Those assertions remain extraordinary and have not been independently verified.
The confrontation has rippled through markets and travel. Oil prices spiked by more than 8 percent and natural gas climbed about 4 percent as traders priced in supply risk from the Gulf. Commercial flights have been rerouted around Iranian and Iraqi airspace as regional governments closed skies amid the escalatory strikes, disrupting schedules and raising costs for airlines and passengers.
CENTCOM’s confirmation of six U.S. deaths and the friendly-fire loss of aircraft in Kuwait underscore how rapidly battlefield conditions and casualty counts have shifted. Military officials have framed the campaign as ongoing; investigators in Kuwait and U.S. defense authorities have been asked for technical accounts of how allied air defenses engaged American aircraft and how the Kuwait facility was struck.
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