Pentagon acknowledges data error after four service-member deaths omitted from casualty website
A temporary data disruption caused the Defense Casualty Analysis System to list 14 instead of 18 U.S. service members killed in the Iran conflict, which the Pentagon is now correcting.
The Defense Casualty Analysis System, the Pentagon’s public database of U.S. military casualties, displayed only 14 deaths from the war with Iran after four recent fatalities were removed. The site, last updated on July 22, still shows the lower figure as of Friday.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the discrepancy resulted from a temporary data disruption and that the anomalies are being fixed in coordination with the military services. > "The site errors on the Defense Casualty Analysis System were due to a temporary data disruption," Parnell posted on X.
The four omitted service members were killed in separate incidents in Jordan and Iraq after a cease-fire declared in April was ended in early July. Their names had initially been listed under Operation Epic Fury, the designation for the Iran war, but were later removed.
The database also shows an inconsistency in the list of fallen personnel, naming only 13 individuals despite the reported total of 14. The Navy has a pending death entry for Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, missing after a helicopter emergency landing on July 1, which could bring the count to 14.
In addition to the death count, the casualty site reported 420 wounded service members, a reduction from the 482 reported earlier in the week. Pentagon officials have not briefed reporters on the Iran conflict since May.
Parnell also criticized a New York Times report, alleging the outlet used anonymous sources to promote an inaccurate story. He indicated that further updates will be posted on the Defense Casualty Analysis System.