By Desire Emmanuel with Agency Reports
Six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike against a military facility in Kuwait on Sunday, the US has confirmed, as reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday, March 3.
US Central Command originally said three soldiers died in the incident but officials confirmed on Tuesday that the death toll had doubled, after one person succumbed to his injuries and two more bodies were found in the rubble.
US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, confirmed a US bunker in Kuwait was hit after a missile was launched during Iran’s original retaliation evaded air defences.
The six deaths are the only fatalities confirmed by the US military since it launched a new war against Iran with Israel.
Hegseth said a “powerful weapon” struck a “tactical operations centre that was fortified,” without providing further details about the site’s location.
Three US military officials with direct knowledge of Iran’s attack told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that the service members were in a makeshift office space in Kuwait.
They questioned whether the building had been adequately fortified, telling CBS News a trailer was being used as an office, with 12-foot steel-reinforced concrete barriers to shield it.
The US has a long-standing defence relationship with Kuwait, and more than 13,000 American soldiers are stationed in the Gulf nation.
Iran has responded to attacks against it by launching missiles at Gulf countries allied with the US. Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar have all also seen strikes.
