US identifies third service member believed to have been killed in Iranian attack

us-identifies-third-service-member-believed-to-have-been-killed-in-iranian-attack

US identifies third service member believed to have been killed in Iranian attack

A third U.S. service member believed to have been killed by an Iranian attack on an air base in Jordan has been identified by the U.S. military as Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad of New York.

The 28-year-old “is believed to have been killed in action on July 17, 2026, during an enemy attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan,” the Pentagon said in a statement. statement. “The incident remains under investigation.”

After the attack, U.S. Central Command said two service members were killed and another was missing. The next day, he said troops had found unidentified remains and an examination process to verify them had begun.

The Pentagon said she is now considered to be that missing soldier and her official status has been changed from “Duty Status – Whereabouts Unknown” to “Presumed Deceased.”

Describing Rampersad as an “active duty Soldier who supported overseas operations in Jordan,” the release said she was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, in Ansbach, Germany.

Paying tribute to Rampersad on She added that New York was mourning “the loss of one of our own.”

His death brings to 18 the total number of American soldiers killed since the start of the war.

The news of his death comes as the US military bombed targets across Iran on Tuesday for the 11th consecutive night.

Iran responded by attacking U.S. allies in the region, as well as U.S. military bases and installations in the Middle East.

Two other soldiers killed by Iranian strikes in Jordan have been identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas. The Pentagon did not provide details on the exact circumstances of their deaths.

Feehan and Gonzales were assigned to the Army’s missile defense commands at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Ansbach, Germany, respectively, according to the release. The Pentagon said it was part of a long-running mission to counter ISIS, Operation Inherent Resolve, which began in 2014.

These are the first known deaths of soldiers due to direct Iranian fire since the early days of the conflict.

A fourth death, of Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, was involved in another incident in Erbil, Iraq, on Sunday during the controlled detonation of an attack drone.

President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that they are “fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump is expected to attend a ceremony, known as a “dignified handover” for U.S. service members who will return to American soil in flag-draped coffins. It is scheduled to take place Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25.
Pvt. Isabella Gonzales; 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan.US Army

Elsewhere in Washington, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth put the cost of the war in Iran so far at $37.5 billion Tuesday during a contentious hearing in which he told lawmakers the Trump administration it will need almost twice as much to continue its military operations in the months to come.

At least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran since the start of military operations, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. state-affiliated news mediaciting a senior judicial official.

The rising death toll effectively ended the interim ceasefire negotiated last month between the United States and Iran. After weeks of trade accusations that each side had violated the deal, the two countries resumed attacks, with U.S. forces striking Iranian military targets and Tehran launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region.

Exit mobile version