Pentagon website “anomalies” that removed the names of four people killed in the Iran war remain
The Pentagon’s website that keeps track of the dead and wounded in various military conflicts has removed four deaths from the war with Iran this week, showing that 14 members have died, instead of the 18 that have been killed since the war began in February.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, in a statement shared with X on Thursday, said “site errors in the Defense Casualty Analysis System were caused by a temporary data disruption” and “the site’s anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the Military Services.”
This site, which was last updated on July 22, on Friday still shows that only 14 people died in the conflict.
According to the Congressional Research Service, when an active-duty service member dies, the service is “required to complete a form (DD 1300 Report of Casualty) that includes the circumstances surrounding the death,” and that information is entered into the Defense Casualty database.
The New York Times first reported on the missing numbers from the database on Thursday and cited three sources who said it was because the four most recent members killed in Jordan and Iraq last week died after the Trump administration announced a ceasefire in April. But four service members were killed about a week after President Trump inform Congress in a letter written on July 10 that said the ceasefire had ended and the war had resumed on July 7.
Deaths in the war with Iran are listed on the website under Operation Epic Fury, the name the Pentagon gave the war when it began in February.
When the Pentagon released the names of two of the three people killed in an Iranian attack on Jordan last week, it initially listed them as dead under Operation Inherent Resolve, the name of the mission targeting ISIS. It later amended the release to say service members died “on active duty overseas.”
Earlier this week, the deaths of four service members were documented under Operation Epic Fury. However, on Thursday their names were no longer there.
There are other differences, too. “Names of the fallen” under the work lists only 13 names of service members who died, rather than 14. CBS News reached out to the Navy, “expected to die” at the site in July. If confirmed, that would bring the death toll to 14. No Navy service members are currently listed among the names that fall under Epic Fury. The Navy identified Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards was reported missing following a helicopter landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
Parnell in his statement to X blamed the removal on data disruption and confusion on the site. He criticized the New York Times for “collaborating with anonymous sources to push a story that is completely false.”
Throughout the war with Iran, the Pentagon has been slow to provide information on casualties. After the New York Times reported earlier this week that dozens of soldiers had been injured in attacks in the Middle East, the Pentagon initially sent reporters questions about the casualties on its website — though it had not been updated for several days and did not count the latest deaths.
Defense officials have not briefed reporters on the Iran war since May.
CBS News first reported it and Parnell confirmed that almost 100 US service members have been injured since July 7. In a statement to X, he said that among the injured, 96% returned to work and most of the injuries experienced were “minor conflicts.” A mild concussion can often be a traumatic brain injury that varies in severity and can show symptoms some time after the initial injury.
He concluded his statement by saying “further updates will be made to the Defense Casualty Analysis System.”
As of Friday, the site said 420 service members had been injured in the war with Iran, down from the 482 listed earlier this week. A US official told CBS News that the higher number would not accurately reflect the latest number of service members injured since the war began.
