TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two U.S. service members were killed and another remains missing after an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack targeted a military base in Jordan, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday, marking another major escalation in the conflict between Washington and Tehran.
According to NBC News, four other American troops were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan but have since been discharged, while several others returned to duty after receiving treatment for minor injuries.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that the attack occurred at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The identities of the two slain service members have not been released pending notification of their families.
CENTCOM said the troops were killed while U.S. and partner forces were responding to the Iranian attack.
U.S. Launches Retaliatory Strikes
In response, President Donald Trump ordered retaliatory airstrikes against Iran on Saturday evening.
The strikes began at 6 p.m. ET and concluded at 11:30 p.m. ET, according to CENTCOM. The military said the operation was intended to "swiftly punish" Iranian forces and further weaken "Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping" in the Strait of Hormuz, as quoted by NBC News.
Late Saturday, CENTCOM said U.S. forces had completed their eighth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets since ceasefire efforts collapsed.
The latest operations targeted Iranian military surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime assets, as well as missile and drone storage sites linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night," CENTCOM said.
Iran Claims Wider Attacks
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had launched "massive drone attacks" on key U.S. military sites in Kuwait and claimed the operations would disrupt U.S. military support activities in the Middle East. NBC News could not independently verify the claims.
Jordan earlier said its military had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones aimed at an American military base in the country.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also claimed that at least two U.S. fighter jets were destroyed during the attack. The claim has not been independently verified.
The deaths of the two service members raise the number of U.S. military fatalities in the ongoing conflict with Iran to 16.
Prior to the latest attack, six U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian strike on a base in Kuwait in March. Additional fatalities included six airmen killed in a refueling aircraft crash in Iraq and one service member killed in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid tribute to the fallen troops in a post on X.
"Godspeed, heroes," Hegseth wrote. "Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."
The latest exchange of attacks underscores the growing risk of a broader regional conflict, as Iran and the United States continue to trade daily strikes following the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement.
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