Pentagon Identifies Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Jordan Base Attack
It was a deadly weekend in the Middle East as two American service members were killed in an attack on a base in Jordan. The Pentagon has now confirmed the identities of these two Americans. Read on for the details.
Identities of Two American Soldiers Killed in Attack in Jordan Released
Two active-duty American soldiers serving in Operation Inherent Resolve were killed due to an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, died on Friday. 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan died on Saturday as a result of injuries sustained during the attack.
Pvt. Gonzales, age 19, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command, Ansbach, Germany.
1st Lt. Feehan, age 25, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While Feehan enlisted in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, his father told the media that he primarily lived in Georgia.
Feehan's parents said that they are “completely heartbroken and devastated.” Stephen and Shari Feehan said, “We want America and the world to know Tyler lived life to the fullest and accomplished more in his 25 years than most complete in a lifetime." Feehan was planning to get married after returning from his deployment.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was quick to take responsibility for the attacks. U.S. Central Command also noted that additional American service members suffered injuries during Friday's strikes. Four of these personnel had to be medically evacuated for treatment at a hospital in Jordan. All four have since been discharged.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X about the losses, saying, "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve." The Pentagon released a statement confirming that the incident is still under investigation.
Operation Inherent Resolve is a program that assists partner forces in helping to permanently defeat ISIS.
Mounting U.S. Casualties in the Middle East
The pair of deaths were first announced by the Pentagon on Saturday. The tragic losses are the first U.S. casualties blamed on Iranian strikes since March.
Just one day after announcing the deaths of Gonzales and Feehan, the Department of Defense announced that another American service member died during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone. It also noted that the officials located unidentified remains in Jordan shortly after a soldier had been reported as missing in action.
According to the Pentagon, a dignified transfer for all four service members is scheduled for Wednesday.
The latest four fatalities bring the total number of U.S. service members lost in the war with Iran to 17. The war has been raging for almost five months, with seemingly no end in sight. While there had been hope that the U.S. and Iran were going to reach a peace agreement, the conflict has ratcheted up another notch over the last week with increasingly more attacks from both sides.
As the news of the latest casualties was being confirmed over the weekend, U.S. military forces were targeting Iranian railways, roads, and tunnels. All of this was happening as Iran launched a fresh wave of attacks against more countries in the Middle East.
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