The Department of Defense on Monday identified two US soldiers who were killed in Iranian strikes in Jordan.
1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, were killed as part of the Friday attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Gonzales, of Carrollton, Texas, died Friday, while Feehan, who enlisted in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, but whose father told CNN he primarily lived in Georgia, died Saturday, the Defense Department said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement on Saturday. The Pentagon’s statement says the two were killed “during an enemy attack.” Other American service members suffered injuries, including four who had to be medically evacuated to a hospital in Jordan but have since been discharged, US Central Command said over the weekend.
The Pentagon said authorities would continue to investigate the attack.
The deaths, initially announced on Saturday, marked the first American casualties resulting from Iranian strikes since March.
The Defense Department said on Sunday that another service member was killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone. It added that the US located unidentified remains in Jordan after a service member had been listed as missing in action.
The deaths bring the number of US service members who have died in the nearly five-month war to 17.
Six US Army Reserve soldiers were killed March 1 by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port. Days later, an Army sergeant died after sustaining injuries during an attack in Saudi Arabia.
On March 12, six service members were killed when a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, a refueling aircraft, crashed in western Iraq, though the incident was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
A recent lull in fighting had given way to what has more resembled an all-out war over the past week, with the US targeting Iranian railways, roads and tunnels, while Iran has launched attacks against an expanding list of countries in the region.
Despite the attacks, officials held out hope for the possibility of a diplomatic solution over the weekend. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday the US “remains open” to talks, while an official representing Iran said they were similarly open to discussions.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the deaths of the American service members were “a very sad thing.”
“We hate to see it happen,” he told NewsNation. “It’s in service to our country.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional information.
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