Who were the 3 US soldiers killed in Iranian attacks over the weekend?
At least 17 soldiers have been killed and roughly 500 wounded since war began.
Following the collapse of the fragile ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran, scores of American troops have been injured and at least three service members have been killed in escalated attacks in the Middle East.
The recent deaths and injuries over the weekend bring the toll to at least 17 U.S. service members who have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, and roughly 500 have been wounded, according to Defense Department figures, including an updated casualty count provided Monday by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
Another service member remains missing after last week's attack in Jordan, where officials are still working to identify human remains recovered from the scene.
The rising casualties show Iran maintains the ability to strike U.S. bases and inflict significant damage, despite repeated assertions by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Tehran's military had been effectively destroyed. Hegseth declared the campaign a "historic and overwhelming victory" during an April press conference.
Here's a look at the three soldiers who the Pentagon has identified as being killed after the collapse of the ceasefire and return to daily fighting.
Pfc. Isabella Gonzales
Pfc. Isabella Gonzales, 19, enlisted in the Army last year and served as an air and missile defense crewmember maintaining and using the systems which have been key to protecting U.S. bases from Iranian attacks, according to the Army.
She was killed Friday during an Iranian missile and drone attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. She was assigned to 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
“We are profoundly saddened by the loss of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales,” Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke, commander of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, said in a statement. “She gave the ultimate sacrifice for her country and will always be remembered as a hero. Our hearts go out to her family, friends, and teammates. Our immediate priority is ensuring they have the resources and support they need to process this grief together.”
Gonzales was posthumously promoted to private first class.
1st Lt. Tyler Feehan
1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, died from wounds suffered during that Friday attack on the Jordan air base the following day.
He enlisted in the Army in 2019 as a combat engineer with the Hawaii Army National Guard, according to the service. He later commissioned from Brigham Young University as an active-duty Air Defense Artillery Officer in 2024. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"1st Lt. Feehan’s unwavering dedication to our mission, our values, and the air defenders he led will leave an enduring legacy,” Brig. Gen. John Dawber, who leads the 32nd Air and Missile Defense Command, said in a statement. “We stand fully committed to supporting his family and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time, and we will never forget his ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.”
Feehan will be posthumously promoted to captain, according to the service.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton
Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, died Sunday following the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian attack drone at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, the Army said.
“Michael was an amazing man,” his wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, told ABC News in a statement. “He was an amazing father and an amazing husband. He cared so much for his soldiers, too.”
Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served as an early warning systems operator, responsible for detecting, tracking and reporting incoming enemy threats to help protect U.S. forces from missile and drone attacks.
It remains unclear what led to Swinton’s death. The use of controlled detonations is a common practice among trained explosive ordnance disposal teams to neutralize hazardous devices. Those procedures were refined over two decades of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, where roadside bombs were a persistent threat to coalition forces. While the disposal of munitions is inherently dangerous, one U.S. official explained, fatal incidents are relatively rare.
The Defense Department said an investigation is ongoing.
The Army said Swinton will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.
Base infrastructure
While U.S. forces are equipped with several high-tech systems to down Iranian missiles and drones, those attacks, once those weapons break through, troops often have limited protection from the infrastructure where they live and work.
For much of the post-9/11 era, U.S. bases in the Middle East outside of Iraq and Afghanistan were broadly viewed as safe, being divorced from those conflicts and firmly in support roles. Overseas installations rely on above-ground structures built from low-cost materials, including trailers and shipping containers, sometimes surrounded by concrete barriers or reinforced with sandbags on roofs or along exterior walls, protections which are not built to withstand aerial attacks or heavy explosives.
Even the large concrete blast walls that became a defining feature of U.S. bases during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars offer limited protection against direct strikes from modern missiles and drones.
Those barriers were primarily designed to protect against gunfire, mortar and rocket attacks, and vehicle bombs detonated at a distance, not direct impacts from advanced weapons, according to a 2006 Army assessment of base infrastructure.
In recent years, defense officials have increasingly studied how to harden bases against drone attacks, recognizing that infrastructure built for earlier conflicts is often ill-suited to withstand modern threats.
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