US soldier killed in Iraq during ‘controlled detonation’ of Iranian drone

The death brings the number of US soldiers killed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran to 17.

The United States military has announced the death of another soldier, saying he was killed in northern Iraq “during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance” from a downed Iranian drone.

In a statement on Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the soldier died on July 18 and that a second service member suffered mild injuries during the detonation.

It did not name the soldier who died.

The death on Saturday brought the number of US service members killed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran to 17. The war began on February 28.

Two other US service members were killed in Iranian strikes in Jordan on Friday, while a third went missing. CENTCOM said on Sunday that unidentified remains have been found at the location and an examination process was under way to identify the remains.

The announcement came as the US attacked Iran for an eighth consecutive night, and Tehran fired missiles and drones at US assets in the Gulf in retaliation.

The two countries have intensified attacks in recent days as an interim ceasefire agreement signed a month ago has unravelled and a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping channel, has deepened.

The conflict has killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and led to major disruptions to energy supplies and fears over global inflation.

Iran has launched hundreds of cheaply produced and highly explosive one-way attack drones – called “Shaheds” by Iran – at targets across the Gulf since hostilities began.

Reports suggest that Shahed drones can be produced at a cost of about $30,000 each, making their mass deployment in attacks relatively cheap for Iran. The interceptors used to shoot them down can cost millions of dollars each, and do not always find their targets.

On Sunday, Iranian media said the US carried out an attack near the city of Sirik in southern Iran, and near Shadegan, close to the border with Iraq. An explosion was later reported in Abadan, in Iran’s southwest.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization also condemned a US attack on the site of a nuclear power plant under construction in Darkhovin, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was investigating reports of an overnight attack, noting that the plant was in the very early stages of construction.

In response to the latest strikes, Iran carried out drone attacks on US military assets and equipment at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and the Ali Al Salem airbase, according to Iranian state television.

Kuwait’s government said a desalination plant had been attacked for the second day running, causing a fire, in what it called a direct strike on vital civilian infrastructure.

Bahrain’s air defences also intercepted an Iranian attack on Sunday, Bahraini state television reported, while sirens sounded in Jordan, where the military said it had shot down three Iranian missiles. Jordan summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in protest against recent attacks.