Washington, D.C., USA – At least 22 US service members have died since the war with Iran began on February 28, four more than the Pentagon’s publicly disclosed figure, according to a Washington Post report. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the report, calling it a “complete lie” and “fake.” “This is disgusting and fake. A complete lie. Shame on the Washington Post – they’re worse than Iranian state media,” Hegseth tweeted on Saturday.
The Washington Post, citing five US officials, reported that at least 22 US military personnel had died since the start of the war. A sixth US official told the newspaper that the number could be as high as 23. The Pentagon’s public Defence Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) listed 18 service-member deaths and more than 800 injuries as of Friday. The Post said not all of the additional deaths were directly linked to combat with Iran but involved US personnel deployed in the Middle East during the conflict.
Two of the deaths omitted from the public database were those of Maj. Sorffly Davius and Sgt. Devin Seibel. Davius, who served with the 42nd Infantry Division at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, died on March 6 of “undetermined causes.” Seibel, assigned to the Air Ambulance Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Carson, Colorado, died on May 31 at Erbil Air Base in Iraq during a “training-related incident.” Fourteen deaths were listed in DCAS under Operation Epic Fury, while four others appeared under a separate “Overseas Operations” category.
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The discrepancies have prompted questions from Democratic lawmakers. Senate Democrats on the Armed Services Committee pressed Hegseth in late July to provide a “full and accurate accounting” of US service-member casualties. Rep. Adam Smith, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said the Pentagon owed Congress and the American public greater transparency about the “impacts and true cost of this war.” Rep. Jason Crow accused Hegseth of “covering up” the deaths and said he was introducing legislation to prevent the Pentagon from manipulating government casualty data. Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth this week, accusing him of high crimes and misdemeanours over the decision to launch the war without congressional approval.
