3 US troops killed and 5 are seriously wounded during Iran attacks,
military says
[March 02, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three American service members have been killed and
five others seriously wounded during the U.S. attacks on Iran, the
military announced Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a
major offensive that President Donald Trump said could likely lead to
more losses in the coming weeks.
The three who were killed were U.S. Army soldiers deployed to Kuwait as
part of a unit that oversees supplies and logistics, according to a
person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to comment
publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The development was
reported earlier by NBC News and The Washington Post.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced the
deaths in a post on X but did not say when and where they occurred as
the Islamic Republic retaliates over the joint strikes by the U.S. and
Israel. The post said “several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries
and concussions” and were going to return to duty.
“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love
and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Trump said in a
video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday afternoon. “And
sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.
Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the
case.”
In the roughly six-minute video, Trump called those killed “true
American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,
even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their
lives.” He said the U.S. will avenge their deaths.
Trump earlier told the Daily Mail in a phone interview Sunday that the
U.S. troops who were killed were “great people.”
“You know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately,” Trump told the
newspaper. “Could happen continuous — it could happen again.”
He also told the Daily Mail that he believes the conflict could last for
“four weeks or so.” He had previously warned that American troops could
be killed or injured in the operation.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have
casualties,” the Republican president said in a video address released
early Saturday. “That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for
now. We’re doing this for the future.”
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Central Command, meanwhile, described the situation “as fluid” and
said it would withhold the identities of the service members who
were killed for 24 hours after their families were notified.
Following the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders, Iran's counterattacks have
struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. military denied Iranian claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln
aircraft carrier was struck with ballistic missiles, saying on X
that the “missiles launched didn’t even come close.”
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its
“most intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israeli and
American military installations.
Before the strikes, Trump had built up the largest U.S. military
presence in the Middle East in decades. The arrival of the Lincoln
and three accompanying guided-missile destroyers at the end of
January bolstered the number of warships in the region.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and
four accompanying destroyers later were dispatched from the
Caribbean Sea to head to the Middle East.
The Ford was part of the U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured leader
Nicolás Maduro, who was brought to New York to face drug trafficking
charges. The operation in January claimed no American lives but left
seven U.S. troops with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.
One of those injured received the Medal of Honor during Trump's
State of the Union address last week. Trump said Army Chief Warrant
Officer 5 Eric Slover piloted the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that
descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” where Maduro
was staying.
Trump has launched several military operations during his second
term, including strikes on members of the Islamic State group in
Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S.
troops and an American civilian interpreter in December.
The U.S. military has also struck IS forces in Nigeria, after Trump
accused the West African country’s government of failing to rein in
the targeting of Christians.
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