UPDATE - US CENTCOM says 6 service members killed in action

ADDS INFO

By Efe Ozkan and Ahmet Salih Alacaci

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON (AA) – The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday that the remains of two more service members killed in action during US-Israeli joint attacks on Iran were recovered.

“As of 4 pm ET (2100GMT), March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted via the US social media company X’s platform.

The statement added that “major combat operations” were ongoing and that the identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin are notified.

Earlier Monday, CENTCOM announced that four US service members had been killed after a service member seriously wounded in Iran’s initial attacks succumbed to their injuries.

Citing a US official and a source familiar with the matter, American broadcaster CBS News reported that all six service members were killed in Kuwait as a result of the same Iranian retaliatory attack over the weekend.

Previous reports indicated that 18 US service members had been wounded since joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran were launched Saturday in what has been dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”

The strikes have killed​​​​​​​ several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting several Gulf countries, mainly US military bases in the region.