The six U.S. service members confirmed dead in the U.S.-Iran conflict were killed while inside a triple-wide trailer that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had described as “fortified.”
The trailer, which served as a makeshift operations center, took a direct hit amid Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Kuwait just after 9 a.m. local time Sunday morning, CNN reported. U.S. Central Command said 18 troops have also been seriously wounded, with others suffering minor shrapnel wounds and concussions.
Military officials had questioned the safety of the operations center even before the strike, according to CBS News. The fortifications used to protect the facility only covered the walls but did nothing to shield the top of the building from an overhead strike, which is what apparently killed the six service members.
A source told CNN there was no warning of the attack that struck the port in Kuwait, and no siren was activated to alert troops to evacuate amid the incoming projectile. There were dozens of people inside the building at the time.
The walls of the building were blown outwards in the blast, according to pictures of the site, with a fire still burning hours afterward.
Early on Monday, before the bodies of two service members were recovered, Hegseth had said that “one” projectile made it through air defenses and hit a “tactical operation center that was fortified.”
The service members killed have not yet been identified, with their families still being notified. They were assigned to 1st Theater Sustainment Command, in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
President Trump couldn’t give a clear answer when asked if he would attend the dignified transfer of remains or invite the families of the soldiers killed during “Operation Epic Fury” to the White House.
“Maybe,” he said.
Trump, who returned to office promising to end America’s so-called “forever wars,” has sought to justify the strikes by arguing Tehran had rebuffed efforts to curb its nuclear program.
They came two days after U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks failed to result in a deal and a year after Trump said initial strikes on Iran had “completely and totally obliterated” the country’s nuclear enrichment facilities, and it would take “years” to rebuild.
Over the weekend, Trump warned there are likely to be more deaths of U.S. troops in the conflict with Iran.
“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends,” he said.
