Pentagon names North Carolina sergeant as third soldier killed in Iran’s weekend strikes

The Pentagon on Tuesday identified the third soldier killed as part of the Iran war over the weekend as a sergeant from North Carolina. Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, was killed while dismantling a downed Iranian one-way attack drone on Sunday at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, according to the War Department. Swinton was an active-duty soldier who was supporting overseas operations at the Erbil base, a key hub for U.S. forces in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Officials previously identified 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, 25, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, as two other soldiers killed in the latest round of Iranian strikes in Jordan. Gonzales was killed in action on Friday, while Feehan was killed in action Saturday, during the Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. Gonzales was from Carrollton, Texas, and Feehan was from Ewa Beach, Hawaii. They were stationed in Jordan as part of a mission to counter ISIS in the region that began in 2014.One other service member remains missing in action following Iran’s attack in Jordan. CENTCOM said that after a “thorough” search, U.S. military personnel found “unidentified remains” at the location on Sunday, explaining that an examination is underway to determine whether they belong to the missing service member.President Donald Trump is expected to attend the transfer of the remains of the killed service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The ceremony was set to take place on Tuesday, but it has been postponed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. The Pentagon said Monday that 17 U.S. troops have been killed since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28, while around 500 others have been wounded. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said nearly 100 U.S. service members have sustained injuries since July 7. He said most were from minor concussions, with 96% of soldiers returning to duty.TIMELINE: ALL THE INCIDENTS WHERE US TROOPS HAVE BEEN KILLED DURING THE IRAN WARWar Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to appear before lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday and deliver an update on the Iran war. His appearance comes as Trump has pushed for retaliation against Iran for the latest deaths, with CENTCOM on Monday saying it had completed a new round of strikes against the country. “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over,” the president wrote on Truth Social.