US Military Identifies 2 Soldiers Killed in Iranian Attack on Jordan
· YEN.com.gh News · Join- The United States Department of Defense has confirmed that two soldiers were killed in Jordan last week
- US Central Command confirmed the two died while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan
- The deaths bring the total number of American military fatalities in the war with Iran to 17
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The US Department of Defense has named two soldiers killed during operations in Jordan as part of the ongoing war with Iran, bringing the confirmed American death toll in that conflict to 17.
The Pentagon identified the soldiers on Monday as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, from Carrollton, Texas.
Source: Getty Images
AP News reported that both were supporting a US mission against the Islamic State group at the time of their deaths. The circumstances of how exactly they were killed have not been disclosed.
US Central Command had confirmed on Saturday that two service members died in Jordan while defending against a combined Iranian ballistic missile and drone assault.
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Their deaths underscore a central tension of the current conflict: American forces stationed across the Middle East face lethal exposure even without being deployed inside Iran itself, as the fighting has spread into neighbouring countries amid a breakdown in peace negotiations.
President Donald Trump has maintained that the war is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
A Growing Toll Since the War Began
The first fatalities occurred shortly after hostilities commenced on 28 February, when an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers who were part of a supply and logistics unit from Iowa. A seventh soldier died in early March after being wounded in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Six more service members perished in late March when a KC-135 refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was operating in what US Central Command described as "friendly" airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place.
The most recent death announced before Monday's identification involved a Navy pilot who died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea on 1 July.
The Navy initially characterised the incident as an emergency landing and stated there was "no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action." Three other sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued.
The cumulative losses reflect the breadth and complexity of a conflict fought with missiles, drones and aircraft across a wide theatre, with American personnel dispersed throughout the region now finding themselves within reach of Iranian strikes.
Source: YEN.com.gh