The Pentagon raised its official tally of U.S. military deaths connected to the war with Iran to 23 this week after two additional Air Force fatalities were added to its casualty database. Both airmen died in incidents classified as nonhostile. The Air Force said one died from an illness, while the cause of the second airman's death has not been disclosed and remains under investigation.
The deaths were added to the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System in updates Wednesday and Thursday. The latest additions mean nonhostile fatalities now account for more than half the deaths in the Pentagon's official tally. Of the 23 service members who have died, 11 were killed by enemy fire and 12 deaths were classified as nonhostile.
Another 865 U.S. service members have been wounded by enemy fire since the war began in late February, according to the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS. DCAS serves as the Pentagon's official record of U.S. troops killed or wounded during wars and other contingency operations. The military records casualties from the conflict under two categories covering different periods of the war.
Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the initial campaign that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, accounts for 15 deaths and 417 wounded service members. A second category, called "Overseas Operations," covers casualties since July 7. The Pentagon lists eight deaths and 448 wounded under that designation.
The two newly added Air Force deaths were included in the Overseas Operations category. Six of the 12 nonhostile fatalities resulted from the crash of a U.S. military refueling tanker in Iraq in March, which killed all the airmen aboard. The casualty figures therefore include not only troops killed directly by enemy action, but service members whose deaths occurred during the broader U.S. military operation and were classified as nonhostile.
The two latest additions fall into the latter category. The distinction is significant in the current tally: Nonhostile deaths now narrowly outnumber the 11 fatalities attributed to enemy fire. The newly disclosed deaths come as the Pentagon's figures show the broader toll the conflict has taken on American forces.
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