What happened
The Pentagon has updated its official count of American service members killed in the war with Iran to 21, after previously underreporting the number of casualties. This change comes weeks after six US officials revealed that the Pentagon had not accurately reported the number of American service members killed since the war began.
The new total, which includes two deaths newly classified as noncombat, was added to the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) late Friday evening. The update exposes a significant gap between the military's earlier public death toll and the actual number of casualties.
The two noncombat deaths include Army Maj Sorffly Davius, 46, who died in Kuwait on March 6, and an unidentified Navy sailor, a woman between 25 and 30 years old, who died by suicide in September. The Pentagon also acknowledged the death of Sgt Devin A Seibel, 26, whose death was previously said to be unrelated to ongoing operations in Iran.
In addition to the updated death toll, the Pentagon's database lists 865 US service members wounded since the war with Iran began. The conflict continues to face widespread opposition among the American public, according to polls.
