US service member killed in northern Iraq
- Last updated: July 20, 2026 | 00:15
A US service member was killed "during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance" in northern Iraq, the US military said on Sunday, just a day after announcing the deaths of two other US service members following an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan.
The unexploded ordnance was from a "downed Iranian one-way attack drone," Central Command said in a statement released on Sunday.
Sunday's announcement brings the death toll of US service members to 17 during the conflict with Iran. More than 430 American troops have been wounded.
Earlier, the US military said its strikes targeted Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday's killing of troops in Jordan.
One service member was missing after that attack, and the military's new statement said "unidentified remains" were found on Sunday and were being examined.
Since the war began, 17 US service members have been killed.
The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the US target bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran.
Tehran has hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain again activated air defences for incoming Iranian drones and missiles.
Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighbouring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.
The US military's Central Command said it hit "Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities and missile and drone storage sites."
It said the attack was designed to degrade Iran's ability to control the strait and "swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces," a power base in Iran's theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal.
Footage released by the US military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One target site appeared to be in a valley of a mountainous region. The Guard often has missile bases and other military equipment tucked into mountain ranges.
Agencies