WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Tuesday that around 140 American service members have been wounded since the start of Operation Epic Freedom Feb. 28.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, “and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
The War Department says that around 140 American service members have been wounded since the start of Operation Epic Freedom on Feb. 28. Noor Pictures/Shutterstock
The statement did not elaborate on when or where the injuries occurred.
Seven service members have been killed by Iranian strikes — including six following a March 1 Iranian strike on a US base in Kuwait and one following a strike the same day on a base in Saudi Arabia.
An Army carry team moves the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army soldier Maj. Sorffly Davius, who died in Kuwait, during a casualty return, Monday, March 9, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. AP
A map that covers the first ten days of Operation Epic Fury. Department of War
A tall plume of smoke billows from a fire next to Azadi Tower (C) following strikes near Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesAn eighth American military member died on March 6 due to an as-yet unspecified medical emergency in Kuwait.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier Tuesday that a “ballpark” of around 150 US military members had suffered combat injuries, in response to a Reuters report.
President Trump said Monday that he believes the risk to US troops was greatly diminished by the initial onslaught of US-Israeli strikes beginning Feb. 28.
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“We’re going to go further. But the big risk on that war has been over for three days. We wiped them out in the first two days,” he said.
“We’re achieving major strides toward completing our military objective, and some people could say they’re pretty well complete.”
Trump indicated the mission might end earlier than his initial four-week timeframe after wild swings in oil markets due to the fact that very few tankers are departing the Strait of Hormuz.
He said Monday that the war will end “when basically I can see that they will no longer have any capacity whatsoever for a very long period of time of developing weaponry that could be used against the United States, Israel, or any of our allies.”
The president has identified four key war aims, including destroying Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, ending its support for proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and sinking its navy.
