4 latest soldier deaths removed from list of Iran war casualties
From left: Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad. (U.S. Army)
The names of the three soldiers who were killed in an Iranian attack on an airbase in Jordan and the name of the soldier who died while dismantling an Iranian drone are no longer listed on the Pentagon’s list of casualties in its military operation against Iran.
Big picture view:
The four soldiers’ names originally appeared in the death toll for Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the joint U.S. and Israeli operation against Iran that began on February 28, but they are now listed in a new category, dubbed Overseas Operations.
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The summary does not break down casualties by theaters of operation, nor does it indicate if any besides the ongoing conflict with Iran are included. Its start date of July 7, however, coincides with the U.S. resuming airstrikes on Iran following the previous ceasefire.
By the numbers:
In addition to the four soldiers whose deaths are now recorded as having happened during Overseas Operations are 207 service members, mostly from the Army, who are listed as having been wounded in a theater of operations.
While the figures do not explicitly confirm how many service members were wounded while fighting Iran, the hundreds listed for the 18 days the category covers are already nearly half of the number listed as wounded for the entire 148 days since Operation Epic Fury began.
The backstory:
The new Overseas Operations category on the Defense Casualty Analysis System, which Pentagon officials have described as the definitive source for casualty information, appeared for the first time on Sunday, according to an Associated Press report.
As late as Tuesday, the report listed 18 people who had been killed and included 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton. Their names now appear under Overseas Operations, and the Epic Fury category indicates 14 service members died in that operation.
What they're saying:
U.S. Central Command told the Associated Press that all questions should be referred to the Pentagon. Neither the Defense Department nor the White House responded to its requests for comment.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.