Four American service members have been killed and four others have been seriously wounded during Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran, U.S. Central Command said Monday.
CENCOM had said Sunday that three service members were killed but announced Monday that another member has died.
“The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” CENTCOM said in a post on social media.
CBS News has learned that the casualties occurred among American personnel based in Kuwait.
“Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” CENTCOM added in its statement on Monday. “The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.”
President Trump told NBC News on Sunday that “we expect casualties with something like this,” adding that “but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”
“They’re great people,” Mr. Trump told The Daily Mail Sunday of the American service members. “And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous — it could happen again.” The president also said the three had “outstanding records.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee offered his condolences to the three service members killed and the others injured, saying on X: “May their memory be a blessing.”
CBS News has reached out to the White House for additional comments.
The U.S. and Israel launched a massive military operation early Saturday in Iran, including striking Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound in Tehran and killing him. The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that several other Iranian officials and commanders were killed, including an adviser to Khamenei.
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Iran’s military launched retaliatory strikes on Israel as well as other U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East. Earlier Sunday, Israeli medics said at least eight people were killed in a missile strike in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem.
In a video posted to social media on Saturday, Mr. Trump said his administration had taken “every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel.”
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties, that often happens in war,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re doing this, not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”