WASHINGTON: Nearly 100 US service members have been injured during the past two weeks of renewed escalation in conflict with Iran, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, as Washington confirmed the death of another soldier in Iraq.
The latest figures come after three American service members were killed over the weekend, marking the first US fatalities resulting from Iranian strikes since March, according to the Pentagon.
The Department of Defense identified the soldier killed in Iraq as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
In a statement, the Pentagon said Swinton died on July 19 at Erbil Air Base during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian one-way unmanned aerial system. The incident remains under investigation.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said “nearly 100 service members” had been injured since July 7, adding that most suffered minor concussions and that 96 percent had already returned to duty.
He was responding to reports questioning whether the Pentagon had fully disclosed the scale of troop injuries. Parnell rejected suggestions that the Pentagon had concealed casualty figures.
“Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action,” he said, adding that the Pentagon’s Defence Casualty Analysis System is regularly updated with casualty data.
Also Read: US, Iran Exchange Fresh Strikes as Gulf Tensions Escalate
According to the Pentagon’s publicly available casualty reporting system, 427 US service members have been injured since the conflict began in February, although the figures include combat and non-combat incidents. Parnell said the totals encompass injuries ranging from minor training accidents to incidents unrelated to combat operations.
The casualty update came as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US military sites, including air defence systems and a radar installation in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan said they activated their air defences in response. Meanwhile, a tanker east of Oman’s Limah was reportedly struck by an unidentified projectile, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled as the conflict has intensified. The disruption has pushed Brent crude above $88 a barrel.
