The Pentagon released the names of four U.S. troops who were killed by a drone attack in an opening salvo of strikes on U.S. military facilities amid President Trump’s widening war with Iran.
The four Army Reserve soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone that detonated in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait on Sunday, about 68 miles from Iranian territory across the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon did not identify two other service members who were killed in the attack.
The slain soldiers are Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
All four soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa. According to an Army statement, the drone strike that killed the troops is under investigation.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump had expressed condolences for the soldiers killed in the attack, and predicted that the U.S. death toll would rise, saying that “sadly, there will likely be more before it ends,” adding, “That’s the way it is.”
More than 870 people have been killed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, setting off an intense Iranian military response across the region. The vast majority of deaths reported so far have been in Iran, which has been under relentless attack by the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
Civilians have been hit hard: On Tuesday, thousands thronged to a funeral for victims of a strike on a girls’ elementary school on Saturday that left 175 people dead, most of whom were believed to be children.
Six U.S. troops have been killed in the widening war as of Tuesday evening. The U.S. and Israel are launching long-range strikes from bases and ships that are often hundreds of miles from their targets in Iran. The U.S. has so far minimized casualties by intercepting many Iranian strikes before they hit their targets.
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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