Nearly 300 U.S. troops have been wounded in Operation Epic Fury amid drone, missile attacks
The number of U.S. military personnel wounded in Operation Epic Fury continues to rise as the campaign against Iran approaches its fourth week.
As of Tuesday, 290 American service members have been wounded in the war, according to Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command’s spokesperson.
Hawkins told DefenseScoop that 255 of those injured troops — or about 88% — have returned to duty so far, while 10 remain seriously wounded.
Around two weeks ago, in mid-March, Centcom reported that at that time approximately 200 U.S. service members had been wounded since the start of the operation on Feb. 28. At least 13 military personnel have reportedly been killed.
President Donald Trump initiated Epic Fury as a U.S.-led, Israel-coordinated campaign to destroy Iran’s leadership, military arsenals, manufacturing sites and nuclear infrastructure. Iran responded by disrupting maritime traffic near the Strait of Hormuz on a major global shipping route for oil, and striking U.S. installations around the Middle East with deadly drones and missile barrages.
Trump said on Monday that the U.S. and Iran had started productive conversations towards reaching a resolution to the war. Senior Iranian officials subsequently denied the president’s claims.
But reports surfaced on Tuesday that Iran received a message from the U.S. via mediators, which could pave a way for official dialogue between the nations.
The Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) notably made its combat debut in Epic Fury, when the long-range weapon was used against certain, undisclosed Iranian targets. The ongoing operation also marks the first combat deployment of U.S.-developed low-cost, one-way attack drones called LUCAS.
However, this conflict is also spotlighting serious vulnerabilities that the U.S. is confronting, associated with drone threats overseas and domestically.
For instance, at least six Army Reserve soldiers died as a result of injuries they sustained during an Iranian drone strike that hit a command center in Kuwait on March 1. Separately, U.S. Northern Command says it “detected and defeated” a drone threat over a “strategic installation” on American soil in the early hours of Epic Fury, although officials haven’t disclosed whether they believe there was an Iranian connection to that incident.
In response to DefenseScoop’s questions on Tuesday, Hawkins declined to provide a breakdown of the number of U.S. service members who were specifically wounded in drone attacks to date during Epic Fury.
Iran’s latest casualty figures have not been released by Tehran in recent days. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on March 21 that at least 3,230 people had been killed in the war, including more than 1,400 civilians.
