Pentagon Names Third Soldier Killed in Jordan as U.S. Strikes on Iran Continue

The Pentagon on Tuesday identified the third U.S. soldier killed in an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, raising the American death toll in the war with Iran to 18, Military Times reported. He is Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, who is believed to have died on July 17.

The Defense Department said the deaths followed an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in Jordan and that the incident is under investigation. Rampersad enlisted in 2019 and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based in Ansbach, Germany. U.S. Central Command had said on July 19 that remains were found after a search, and the Pentagon then changed his status from missing to believed to be deceased while the remains are verified.

The department earlier identified Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, who died July 17, and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who died July 18. Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, said the command is grieving and will support one another.

More than 400 U.S. personnel have been wounded since the campaign began on Feb. 28, Military Times reported. The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon says nearly 100 service members have been injured since strikes resumed on July 7, and that 96 percent have returned to duty. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the vast majority of injuries were minor concussions. The AP noted that the Defense Casualty Analysis System had not been updated as of Monday night.

The AP, in a report carried by Military.com, said Monday was the tenth consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes on Iran. CENTCOM said it hit military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems. Iranian authorities said at least 50 people were killed and 517 wounded in the latest strikes,, according to the AP; those figures come from Iran and were not independently verified in the report.

President Trump posted that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!”, the AP reported. He was planning to attend a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday evening for returning remains.

On the diplomatic side, the AP said the interim deal signed last month has collapsed. Iran’s interior minister arrived in Islamabad for two days of talks with Pakistan’s prime minister. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remains open to negotiation but that it has to be real, adding that “that’s not where we are tonight.” The State Department warned Americans that Iran and aligned groups may target U.S. interests overseas.

The latest reports add detail to the losses first reported over the weekend, when, according to the AP, a service member died in Iraq during the detonation of a downed Iranian drone. The AP’s count of 17 U.S. service members killed since the war began, published before the third soldier was identified, and Military Times’ count of 18 are consistent with each other.