The Washington Post reported that the number of US service members who died in the Middle East since the war with Iran began exceeds the toll publicly announced by the US Department of Defence, citing six officials familiar with the Pentagon’s internal database for tracking casualties.
US sources give differing death tolls
Five officials said the toll had reached at least 22 military deaths, four more than the number shown in the Pentagon’s public database, known as the Defence Casualty Analysis System. The database lists 18 deaths among US forces since the conflict began, including both hostile and non-hostile incidents.
A sixth official gave a higher estimate, saying that 23 US service members had died in the region since 28 February, the date US and Israeli military operations against Iran began. The official said the deaths not publicly listed were not all directly linked to combat, but occurred among US personnel present in the Middle East while hostilities continued.
The official added that three US contractors stationed in the region had also died since combat operations began. The identities of the service members included in the additional cases, as well as the locations, dates and causes of their deaths, were not clear. Officials familiar with the internal figures expressed frustration that the cases did not appear on the Pentagon’s public casualty portal.
Death investigations could affect families’ benefits
The US Department of Defence declined to answer the newspaper’s questions about the discrepancy between its internal data and the published toll. How military deaths are classified has implications beyond the announcement of figures: the US military conducts an investigation to determine whether each death occurred while the service member was performing official duties, and the findings could affect the benefits owed to the families of deceased service members.
The Pentagon database divides the 18 publicly reported deaths into two categories: 14 are listed under Operation Epic Fury, the name given by the US administration to operations against Iran, while four others appear under a separate category called “External Operations”.
The four cases classified under the second category date from fighting that followed a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, before it collapsed and attacks resumed. The Defence Department moved those deaths, along with dozens of injuries, from the Operation Epic Fury tally to the new category, explaining that the first operation had ended and casualties from subsequent clashes would be recorded separately.
The changes had previously raised questions about how casualties were counted, after the published number temporarily fell from 18 to 14 deaths. A Pentagon spokesman said at the time that the discrepancy resulted from temporary disruptions in the data, before the four cases appeared under “External Operations” rather than being included in the war’s main tally.
The Defence Department separately announced the deaths of two service members in the Middle East since February while they were taking part in missions it said were unrelated to the war with Iran. Sergeant Devin Sable died in Erbil, Iraq, on 31 May after a training accident while serving in Operation Inherent Resolve against Islamic State, while Major Sorfley Davious died on 6 March after suffering a medical emergency in Kuwait while deployed as part of Operation Spartan Shield.
Widespread injuries and the war’s financial cost
The public casualty database showed that more than 820 US service members had been injured in combat since the conflict began. Some suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of retaliatory Iranian attacks targeting US bases across the Middle East.
The dispute over casualty reporting prompted a number of members of Congress to pursue legislative action. Democratic Representative Jason Crow and 11 other House Democrats, all veterans, said they planned to introduce a bill banning the manipulation of government data on US military casualties.
Senate Democrats also pledged to investigate how the Pentagon handled casualty notifications if they regained the majority after the midterm elections.
