US Department of War releases new casualty numbers as American deaths increase

0The Pentagon quietly increased the number of US forces killed in Iran on Saturday (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)Officials within the Pentagon have quietly increased the number of troops who died in the Middle East, raising the question about transparency within the Pete Hegseth-run department.

According to the Pentagon, 21 U.S. service members have been killed during the conflict in the Middle East, up from the previous report of 18. Similarly, the number of wounded troops also increased to 865, up by 98 since August.

The Defense Casualty Analysis System website posted the latest figures on Friday. The platform provides details of the casualties, including their branch of service, rank, race, and ethnicity.

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Two of the recent deaths were from noncombat causes. Among them was Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, a member of the Army National Guard from Queens, New York, who died in Kuwait on March 6.

The second death was from an unidentified member of the Navy, who died by suicide in September. The deaths were reported by USA Today, citing a Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Sgt. Davin A. Seibel, 26, was the third death. Seibel died in Iraq in May during Operation Inherent Resolve, a military effort to combat ISIS. Lawmakers quickly denounced the Pentagon's silence on the deaths, with some demanding answers for the delayed announcements.

"There is no excuse for a mistake of this magnitude," Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington and Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania said in a joint statement. Both representatives have demanded an explanation after discovering "a discrepancy in the Pentagon's reporting of casualty numbers."

"The failure of Secretary Hegseth to immediately take ownership of the problem also does a grave disservice to the men and women putting their lives on the line in service to our country," they wrote. The lawmakers added that they will continue to demand "transparency and accountability" from the Pentagon regarding deaths in the Middle East.

"We are glad to see the error has been corrected, and we will continue to fight for transparency and accountability," they added. "While this public correction is an important first step, we expect the Department to make the necessary changes to policies and procedures to ensure this mistake is not repeated and that they are more transparent with the public going forward."

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The Washington Post reported in September that the number of troops who died in the war was higher than what the Pentagon had reported. At the time, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth slammed the report as "fake" and a "complete lie."

The latest updates come months after the Pentagon removed the deaths of four troops from their records in July. The deaths had been listed as part of Operation Epic Fury, the military's name for the war in Iran. They were added back to the database as "Overseas Operations."

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