Iranian strikes injure dozens of U.S. troops in Jordan before deadly attack – The New York Times
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Iran carried out at least three strikes against U.S. forces in Jordan in the week before a deadly attack that killed two U.S. service members and left another missing, with the earlier attacks injuring dozens and damaging several helicopters, according to The New York Times, citing U.S. officials.
The Pentagon did not publicly disclose the earlier strikes, casualties or damage. However, Sean Parnell, Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said on Monday that nearly 100 U.S. service members had been injured in Iranian attacks since July 7.
The latest disclosures, according to The New York Times, have renewed questions over the Pentagon’s handling of information about U.S. military casualties during the conflict with Iran, amid tensions between operational security and public transparency.
U.S. officials told The New York Times that Central Command (CENTCOM) avoided disclosing details about some Iranian attacks on U.S. positions in the region to prevent Iran from gaining information that could help it target American forces.
CENTCOM also stopped releasing the number of Iranian sites struck each day, according to the officials.
In statements following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military sites last week, CENTCOM said the operations were conducted in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without publicly referring to Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan and elsewhere in the region.
A U.S. military official said CENTCOM is not required to disclose information about service members who are injured but quickly return to duty.
Parnell rejected allegations that the Pentagon had concealed or misrepresented U.S. military casualties.
“Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action,” he said in a statement.
He noted to the Pentagon’s publicly available Defense Casualty Analysis System, which provides aggregate figures for U.S. military deaths and injuries.
Parnell later said nearly 100 service members had been injured since July 7, with the “vast majority” suffering mild concussions and 96% having returned to duty.
The Pentagon’s casualty database lists 427 U.S. service members as injured in the conflict and 14 killed in hostile and nonhostile incidents, the newspaper reported. The online death figures had not yet been updated to include the three U.S. service members whose deaths were announced over the weekend.
The Pentagon said the injury figures include cases ranging from minor injuries during routine training to incidents unrelated to combat operations.
The latest casualties brought the reported number of U.S. military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 to 17.
CENTCOM said four U.S. service members wounded in July 17’s attack were taken to hospitals in Jordan and later discharged. Other service members sustained minor injuries and returned to duty, but the command did not specify how many.
The statement did not mention the service members injured in the three earlier attacks in Jordan.
U.S. casualty reporting rules generally require the military to identify deceased service members only after notifying their next of kin. The names of wounded service members are typically not released.
The Pentagon provided limited public information about U.S. military strategy since a fragile truce collapsed, with the last major Pentagon briefing on the conflict held in early May, according to The New York Times.
The administration also faced scrutiny over the war’s impact on U.S. weapons stocks and Iran’s ability to maintain and rebuild its missile capabilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the service members who died in Jordan were killed “in service of our country” and reiterated that the primary goal of the war was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the deaths would strengthen U.S. resolve.
The conflict also resulted in significant civilian casualties in Iran, with estimates indicating that more than 1,700 Iranian civilians have been killed, according to the report.