NEW: Bombshell Report Reveals More US Troop Deaths Amid Iran War Than Pentagon Claims

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

The Washington Post revealed on Friday that more American service members have died during the ongoing war with Iran than was publicly disclosed by Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense.

The bombshell report by Noah Robertson, Tara Copp, Warren P. Strobel and Alex Horton cited six “officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal casualty accounting data,” and reported:

Five of the officials said there have been at least 22 military fatalities — four more than what appears in the Pentagon’s public database, known as the Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS.

A sixth official, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the figures, said 23 service members have died since Feb. 28, when the Trump administration, in concert with Israel, initiated the Iran war. Not all of the undisclosed deaths are directly tied to the conflict but have involved U.S. personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities, this person said.

In July, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon removed casualties from its website, which listed 18 U.S. service members had been killed, and later changed it to 14. At the time, three military officials told the Times that the change reflected a decision to exclude four troops killed after Trump had declared a ceasefire in April.

Pentagon acting press secretary Joel Valdez disputed that characterization, telling the Times the change stemmed from “temporary data disruptions” and “anomalies” affecting the website. “The department attempted to explain the anomalies to The New York Times ahead of publication, but given their lack of knowledge in this area, they proceeded to write a non-story,” Valdez told the outlet in an email, adding, “We remain committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!