Two United States service members have been killed, while another remains missing in action after Iranian missile and drone attacks targeted US and allied forces in Jordan, the US Central Command announced on Saturday.
According to CENTCOM, the incident occurred on July 17 during a coordinated Iranian assault involving ballistic missiles and drones.
“On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing in action,” CENTCOM said in a social media post.
The command added that four other American troops were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan following the attack but have since been discharged. Several others sustained minor injuries and have already returned to active duty.
CENTCOM said it would not release the identities of the deceased troops until at least 24 hours after their families have been notified.
Reacting to the development, US President Donald Trump described the deaths as tragic.
“We hate to see it happen. It’s in service to our country,” he told NewsNation.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also paid tribute to the fallen personnel, writing on X, “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack on a military facility used by US forces in Al-Azraq, Jordan.
The IRGC alleged that the strike, carried out with missiles and drones, completely destroyed several aircraft at the base.
In response, the US military said it had begun fresh airstrikes against Iranian targets on Saturday evening, saying the operations were intended to “swiftly punish” Iran for the killing of American troops.
The latest deaths raise the number of US service members killed since the conflict began nearly five months ago to 16, according to the US military’s defense casualty analysis system.
On March 1, six US Army Reserve soldiers were killed after an Iranian missile struck a temporary operations centre at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port. A few days later, an Army sergeant died from injuries sustained during a separate attack in Saudi Arabia.
Another six service members were killed on March 12 when a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq. Military officials, however, said the crash was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
On July 5, the US Navy ended its search for a missing service member after a helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea, noting there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.”
The latest fatalities come as the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has effectively broken down, with both countries exchanging strikes in recent days. Iranian drone and missile attacks have increasingly targeted locations hosting US military personnel across the region.
Iranian authorities also reported on Saturday that 12 more people had been killed over the previous 24 hours, bringing the country’s death toll in the latest phase of the conflict to 50.
A deputy governor in Hormozgan province claimed that a US missile strike destroyed a water desalination plant, although the US military has not responded to the allegation.
