Six US soldiers killed in Iranian strike on Kuwait base

BBC:

Six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike against a military facility in Kuwait on Sunday, the US has confirmed.

An “unmanned aircraft system” evaded air defences to hit a bunker in Port Shuaiba, the US military said.

US Central Command originally said three soldiers died in the attack, but officials confirmed on Monday the death toll had doubled, after one person succumbed to injuries and two more bodies were found in the rubble.

The six deaths are the only fatalities confirmed by the US military since it launched a new war against Iran with Israel.

Four of the deceased, all US Army Reserve soldiers, were named on Tuesday by the US military: Capt Cody Khork, 35, Sgt Noah Tietjens, 42, Sgt Nicole Amor, 39, and Sgt Declan Coady, 20.

In a briefing on Monday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said a “powerful weapon” struck a “tactical operations centre that was fortified”.

Three US military officials with direct knowledge of Iran’s attack told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that the service members killed in Kuwait were hit in an apparent drone attack. They had been working in a makeshift office space.

They questioned whether the building had been adequately fortified, telling CBS News a trailer was being used as an office, with 12ft (3.7m) steel-reinforced concrete barriers to shield it.

The US has a long-standing defence relationship with Kuwait, and more than 13,000 American soldiers are stationed in the Gulf nation.

Iran has responded to attacks against it by launching missiles at Gulf countries allied with the US. Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar have all also seen strikes.

Separately in Kuwait, the US confirmed three fighter jets were downed after what it described as an incident of “friendly fire” on Monday.

Footage showed the jets spiralling to the ground. The pilots involved all managed to eject and survived the incident.

Iran state media claimed the Iranian military had shot down the jets, without providing evidence.