U.S.: 1 dead, 1 injured in Iraq while handling drone ordnance

A U.S. soldier was killed and another sustained minor injuries in northern Iraq on Saturday while attempting to control and detonate an unexploded Iranian drone. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the incident, stating that the soldiers were engaged in the process of neutralizing ordnance from a downed Iranian drone.

This incident occurred separately from an earlier event on January 17, where two U.S. soldiers were killed and one went missing in Jordan following an Iranian missile strike on a base. CENTCOM announced on Sunday that human remains were discovered at the site of the Jordan attack and are undergoing verification to determine if they belong to the missing service member.

CENTCOM has withheld the identities of the deceased and injured soldiers out of respect for their families, who are being notified. The exact location of the drone incident in Iraq was not disclosed, but foreign media reports suggest that at least two Iranian ballistic missiles struck the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on January 17, where U.S. troops and aircraft are stationed.

According to reports from AP and the BBC, since the U.S. began airstrikes against Iran on February 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 have been injured. Iran claims that at least 50 people have died and 517 have been injured due to U.S. airstrikes since late last month.