Name: BREAKING: Three U.S. service members killed in Operation Epic Fury, CENTCOM says
Uploaded: 2026-03-01T23:03:53.000Z
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Is senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby.

Courtney, what more can you tell us about this breaking news right now?

Basic passive voice

Do we know anything about how it happened?

So so far, we know, according to US Central Command, that's the military command in the Middle east, we know that at least three U.S.

service members have been killed as part of this Operation Epic Fury.

The airstrikes, this continuing campaign against Iran, and at least five others have been seriously wounded.

CENTCOM described them as shrapnel injuries and concussions.

As part of this, we're still trying to find out exactly where this occurred, if it was one location.

What may sound familiar here, guys, is the idea of shrapnel injuries and concussions.

You'll recall that when Iran struck at Al Udid, or, excuse me, at Al Assad Air Base in western Iraq several years ago, after the US Killed Qasem Soleimani, there were a number of servicemembers, dozens in fact, who received concussions and traumatic brain injuries because of the concussive blast of the ballistic missiles that Iran launched at that base.

So despite the fact that the individuals were able to get into shelters, in most cases get away from the blast, just the sheer magnitude of the ballistic missiles hitting caused some of those injuries.

So it's not clear at this point whether that was what happened here or not.

But that could be why CENTCOM is now reporting a number of concussions.

Again, we're now reporting that at least three U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Epic Fury.

At least five others have sustained serious injuries.

And I have to say this is an ongoing campaign against Iran by the United States, and

So this is a number that we will continue to watch, but

it will likely change in the coming hours and days.

Guys, Courtney, we know you'll update us the moment you get more information, but

picking up where you left off, we know the US Military had been building up its presence in the region for several weeks.

Past the initial strike strikes on day one.

What is the US Military involvement right now?

Do we have an idea of just how long this operation could last for American forces?

We should be thinking about this not in terms of days, but

in terms of weeks at this point, if, in fact, the military is expected to achieve these goals laid out by President Trump.

And the only time we have heard from him since this campaign began.

That was a social media video that the White House Posted at about 2:30 in the morning, early Saturday morning, explaining the goals that he wants for this operation is the destruction of Iran's nuclear program, the destruction of their ballistic missile program, as he put it, the annihilation of their navy.

And then of course, this ultimate goal, which is to overthrow or topple the Iranian regime there, which President Trump called on the people there to have it play a big part in, if in fact the US Military is expected to be used for those goals.

We have already seen, as you mentioned, Joe, the US Military bring in the largest amount of firepower, a concentrated amount of firepower in the region in a generation.

They have already unleashed hundreds of strikes against Iran in just the first 20 or 32 hours or so since this began.

As I mentioned, it is a sustained air campaign.

They are also striking from land and striking from the sea.

But it's also not just about the offensive posture here.

You know, I just mentioned these servicemembers who were killed.

They are lashing out at countries all throughout the region, trying to hit Americans, trying to hit in some, hit the Israelis.

And the US Is involved in the defense of that, not just the defense of US Bases, but

And as part of that, this massive amount of US Military who've moved into the region in recent weeks, they are also responsible for the defensive posture that again, as Iran continues to lash out after the US And Israel began these strikes early Saturday morning, the defensive piece of this will be just as important as the offensive piece.

And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.