Three U.S. service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded in Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israel airstrike attack on Iran, U.S. Central Command said Sunday.
Several other service members received minor shrapnel wounds during the operation. Those not in critical condition are expected to return to duty, CENTCOM said.
The Pentagon did not disclose where the troops were stationed or how they were killed. The names of those killed have also not been disclosed and are expected to be released 24 hours after their immediate family has been notified.
The deaths mark the first casualties of President Trump’s military operation in Iran, which he launched early Saturday. The action, with cooperation with the Israeli military, targeted Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program along with key members of the Islamic republic’s military and political leadership.
In his video address announcing the operation on Saturday, Mr. Trump warned that there could be American casualties in the operation.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties,” he said. “That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future.”
