Four Americans Killed as Iran Attacks US Troops in Jordan, Iraq
Four American service members died over the weekend as a result of Iranian attacks on U.S. forces, according to U.S. Central Command. Three U.S. troops died at an air base in Jordan in an Iranian ballistic missile strike July 17. Two of these deaths were reported soon after the incident, and the U.S. later said it found remains of another service member it is now in the process of identifying.
The missile attack occurred at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, known as MSAB. Four other American service members were wounded in the strike and medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. Those troops have since been discharged, CENTCOM said. An unspecified number of other personnel were also injured.
Separately, another American service member died in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian one-way attack drone July 18, CENTCOM said. A second service member was wounded in the incident in northern Iraq.
The U.S. military is currently withholding further information, including the names of the dead service members, “out of respect for the families,” CENTCOM said.
Dozens of U.S. fighter jets are based at MSAB, which has been a key hub for Air Force strikes against Iran.
The Trump administration ratcheted up its air campaign against Iran after a tenuous ceasefire collapsed last week. U.S. forces have attacked Iranian military facilities, multiple bridges, and other infrastructure for the past week, and Iran has launched missiles and drones at multiple bases used by the U.S. in the region, as well as at Gulf countries’ population centers.
The U.S. conducted its eighth straight day of airstrikes following Iran’s strike on the Jordanian base. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the deadly attack “only stiffens our resolve.”
“The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
At least 16 American service members have been killed in action since fighting with Iran began Feb. 28. At least nine have been killed in Iranian attacks. The other seven service members killed died in aircraft crashes—six Airmen when a KC-135 collided with another tanker, and a Navy pilot lost at sea when his helicopter crashed. Over 400 troops have been wounded since the conflict began.
Staff writer Stephen Losey contributed reporting.
