Pentagon identifies third U.S. soldier killed in weekend attacks by Iran
FORT BRAGG, N.C. —
A U.S. service member killed Saturday during a “controlled detonation” of an Iranian drone has been identified.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action at the Erbil Air Base in Iraq, federal officials said Tuesday.
No further information was released on the circumstances surrounding his death.
Above video | President Trump commented about the loss of service members killed during the US conflict with Iran
Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
The Defense Department said the incident is under investigation.
A second service member was wounded during Saturday’s incident and was receiving medical treatment for a minor injury.
Two other U.S. service members were killed earlier in the week in Jordan, identified by the Defense Department as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. Circumstances surrounding their deaths also remain unclear, but officials say both were killed “supporting a U.S. mission against the Islamic State.”
The U.S. military has said the total number of deaths in the war with Iran is 17.
The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American boots don’t need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.
President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
