Six dead, 18 service members injured in Iran operation

This is a developing story. It will be updated as news unfolds.

The number of American personnel killed and injured in Operation Epic Fury rose Monday as the United States continued its assault on Iran, U.S. Central Command officials confirmed.

In a statement on X , Central Command said a service member who had been “seriously wounded” in the initial assault had succumbed to their injuries. Two others, who were previously unaccounted for, have been recovered — bringing the total number of military personnel killed in action to six.

Pentagon officials did not provide specifics on the circumstances that lead to the deaths, but during a press conference Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a projectile had made it through air defenses and struck a fortified U.S. military position.

Hegseth did not disclose the facility’s location, but reporting by the Washington Post indicated the casualties occurred in Kuwait.

“You have air defenses and lots coming in, and you hit most of it, and we absolutely do — we have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while, you might have one, unfortunately — we call it a ‘squirter’ — that makes its way through, and in that particular case, it hit a tactical operations center,” Hegseth said.

U.S. Central Command said Monday that 18 troops had been wounded, up from the five reported over the weekend, according to Stars and Stripes.

Central Command did not respond to questions regarding the extent of the injuries or whether the service members had been evacuated from the theatre to U.S. military hospitals in Germany or the United States.

The U.S. and Israel launched strikes Saturday on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported by mid-day Eastern Standard Time that 555 Iranians had been killed in the initial assault.

During a press conference Monday, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that additional air assets were being sent to the region but he declined to say how many service members were in theatre.

“I think we are just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and combat power,” Caine said.

The identities of the fallen have not been released pending notification of the next of kin.

Caine warned Monday that there would likely be more casualties.

“We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said. “But, as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”

At a White House ceremony Monday honoring three Medal of Honor recipients , President Donald Trump said the purpose of the operation was three-fold: to destroy Iran’s missile capability; “annihilate” their navy; and ensure that the country would never have nuclear weapons.

Over the weekend, U.S. Northern Command raised the security levels on military installations in the United States to Force Protection Level Bravo, indicating a higher state of alert for those guarding U.S. bases.

Under the Bravo condition, 100% of people entering installations will be required to show current identification and vehicles may be subjected to inspection.

Also, the Trusted Traveler Program — an initiative that allows service members, those who hold a Defense Department identification card and civilians to bring individuals on base without a background check — is suspended.

Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.

这是一则正在更新的新闻，我们将随着新闻进展及时更新。

美国中央司令部官员周一证实，随着美国继续对伊朗发动袭击，“史诗狂怒行动”中伤亡的美军人员人数上升。

中央司令部在一份声明中表示，一名在最初袭击中“身负重伤”的军人因伤势过重不治身亡。另有两名此前下落不明的军人已被找到，至此，阵亡军人总数上升至六人。

五角大楼官员没有提供导致人员死亡的具体情况，但在周一的新闻发布会上，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯表示，一枚炮弹突破了防空系统，击中了美军的一个防御工事。

赫格塞斯没有透露该设施的位置，但《华盛顿邮报》的报道显示，伤亡事件发生在科威特。

“我们有防空系统，而且来袭的炸弹数量也很多，我们几乎全部拦截了下来，我们的防空系统确实非常强大。但偶尔也会有漏网之鱼——我们称之为‘喷射弹’——能够突破防线，而这次，它击中了我们的战术作战中心，”赫格塞斯说道。

据《星条旗报》报道，美国中央司令部周一表示，已有 18 名士兵受伤，高于周末报道的 5 人。

中央司令部没有回应有关伤亡程度以及伤员是否已从战区撤离到德国或美国的美国军事医院的问题。

美国和以色列周六对伊朗发动空袭，导致最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊和其他高级领导人丧生。伊朗红新月会于美国东部时间中午发布消息称，在最初的袭击中，已有555名伊朗人死亡。

周一的新闻发布会上，参谋长联席会议主席、空军上将丹·凯恩表示，正在向该地区增派空中力量，但他拒绝透露有多少军人在战区。

凯恩说：“我认为就总作战能力和作战力量而言，我们已经基本达到了我们想要的水平。”

为待通知家属，遇难者身份尚未公布。

凯恩周一警告说，伤亡人数可能还会增加。

凯恩说：“我们预计还会遭受更多损失，我们将一如既往地努力将美方损失降到最低。但正如部长所说，这是一场重大的作战行动。”

周一，在白宫举行的表彰三位荣誉勋章获得者的仪式上，唐纳德·特朗普总统表示，此次行动的目的有三：摧毁伊朗的导弹能力；“歼灭”其海军；并确保该国永远不会拥有核武器。

上周末，美国北方司令部将美国境内军事设施的安全级别提升至“部队保护级别 Bravo”，这表明守卫美国基地的人员处于更高的警戒状态。

在 Bravo 条件下，所有进入设施的人员都必须出示有效身份证件，车辆可能会接受检查。

此外，允许现役军人、持有国防部身份证的人员和平民在不进行背景调查的情况下携带人员进入基地的“可信旅客计划”也被暂停。

Patricia Kime 是一位资深撰稿人，主要报道军事和退伍军人的医疗保健、医药和人事问题。