U.S. Central Command said Sunday that three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five were seriously wounded in the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, a major U.S.-led military campaign that began Feb. 28.
In an update issued at 9:30 a.m. ET on March 1, CENTCOM said several other service members sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are being returned to duty. Major combat operations are continuing, and the response effort remains ongoing.
CENTCOM said it is withholding additional information, including the identities of those killed, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.
According to a statement, U.S. and partner forces began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. ET on Feb. 28 as part of an effort to dismantle Iran’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations described as posing an imminent threat. Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command-and-control sites, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch locations, and military airfields.
CENTCOM said that after the initial wave of strikes, its forces defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The statement reported minimal damage to U.S. installations and said operations were not affected. It also said the first hours of the operation included precision munitions launched from air, land, and sea, and marked the first combat use of low-cost one-way attack drones by CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike.
Be the first to comment