On Saturday evening, US Central Command announced on Twitter that two US service members were killed in Jordan on July 17 as US and “partner forces defended against Iranian drone and missile attacks.” One service member remains “missing in action”.
Social media posts said four US service members were injured and taken to Jordanian hospitals, but were later released. Another suffered minor injuries.
In accordance with Pentagon protocol, additional information, including the identities of those killed, will be withheld for 24 hours after the families of those killed have been notified.
The Iranian attack targeted the Muwafaq Salti Air Base (MSAB) in Al Azraq, Jordan, which has been used as a launch point for US Air Force strikes into Iran.
According to government media reports, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday claimed to have targeted American aircraft stationed in Jordan with missiles and drones.
In another attack early Saturday, the IRGC claimed to have destroyed a US aircraft in a missile and drone attack on a base in Al Azraq, according to Iranian state media. These claims could not be independently verified.
16 American deaths since the war began
Since the Iran war began on February 28, the US military has reported that 16 US service members have been killed, and more than 430 have been injured.
On March 1, six US Army Reserve soldiers were killed in an attack on a US military operations center in Kuwait’s Shuaiba port. That same day, a US Army sergeant in Saudi Arabia was also injured in an attack and died several days later.
On March 12, a refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, killing six US service members, although the military said the incident was an accident.
On July 1, the pilot of a US Navy helicopter died after a crash in the Arabian Sea, which the Navy said was “not caused by hostile action.” Three other crew members survived.