New casualty category called ‘Overseas Operations’ draws scrutiny over war’s true impact on US forces
The four American troops killed during renewed fighting between the US and Iran in recent weeks are no longer listed as part of the Iran war death toll in the Pentagon’s official casualty count but have been placed in a new, separate category.
It is raising questions about properly counting the impact to US service members as the Trump administration has escalated strikes on Iran in a bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while providing little indication of how it intends to wind down a conflict that is unpopular with many Americans.
The Defence Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), which Pentagon officials have repeatedly pointed to as the definitive source on the numbers of dead and wounded from the conflict, removed the four fallen soldiers as well as dozens of wounded troops from its Iran war tally last week.
On Sunday, a new category called “Overseas Operations” emerged on the system’s website, listing the four US Army deaths by name as well as 207 wounded. It was unclear if all of the wounded were injured in the Iran conflict.
US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, referred questions to the Pentagon, which, along with the White House, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez argued on Thursday that the drop in casualty figures in the online system was not an effort to hide the growing human toll of the war but rather the result of “anomalies” and “temporary data disruptions” that were being resolved “imminently”.