Three American service members have been killed, and five were seriously wounded while participating in military operations against Iran, U.S. Central Command announced on Sunday.
“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” reads the statement, which was posted to social media. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”
Additional information was not immediately available about how or where the injuries and deaths occurred, with the command noting that “the situation is fluid” and that the identities of those killed would be withheld until their families are notified — standard process following the death of a service member.
U.S. and Israeli forces began extensive air and missile strikes against Iran on Saturday. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed in airstrikes, President Donald Trump announced late Saturday afternoon.
The U.S. operation, named Epic Fury, began around 1:15 a.m., Eastern Time, on Saturday, and it involved launching one-way attack drones and missiles at targets inside Iran, according to CENTCOM, which has released videos showing U.S. Navy ships firing Tomahawk cruise missiles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, launching Army Tactical Missile System rockets, or ATACMS, which have a range of up to 186 miles.
On Sunday, CENTCOM announced that U.S. forces had sunk an Iranian frigate, and the command disputed Iranian claims that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had been struck by four ballistic missiles.
“The Lincoln was not hit,” CENTCOM posted on X. “The missiles launched didn’t even come close.”
