WASHINGTON, 12 Oct. - (ANA) - The US Department of War has raised the death toll of US personnel in its war on Iran to 21 killed and 865 wounded in an acknowledgement that losses faced during the conflict were greater than previously admitted.

 

The Pentagon added two non-combatant deaths, including one Major who died in Kuwait on 6 March and a Navy suicide from September, according to The Washington Post.

 

The publication previously reported in September that the department's internal figures counted 23 service members as having died since the start of the war on 28 February.

 

The admission is a firm rebuttal of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who previously labelled the reporting of a higher death toll as “a complete lie", as well as a correction of previous reporting by the Pentagon, which has underreported the toll since the start of the war due to Trump's own claims that the war has ended.

 

In a bid to mark deaths in the region tied to continued war with Iran,  the department created a new category for those killed after Trump’s declaration.

 

The Pentagon told The Post in a statement that, rather than correcting its own figures, it is making revisions to how it reports casualties.

 

The number of US casualties in its war on Iran have been contentious, with US media outlets revealing larger casualty figures than admitted to by the Pentagon throughout the war.

 

Despite US and Israeli airpower decapitating Iran's leadership and destroying vast swathes of Iranian military assets, Iran's quick response saw ballistic missiles and drones targeting US bases, alongside Iran's Gulf neighbours and Israel.

 

Iranian attacks on US bases have left the 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US airbase in the region, severely damaged.

 

Iranian attacks also damaged or destroyed US radar used to track ballistic missiles and aircraft on the ground.

 

The extent of the damage has led the Department of War to mull pulling troops and withdrawing from bases in the Gulf.

 

However, in recent weeks, Trump ordered new plans to be drawn up for renewed strikes against Iran, as negotiatons between the two reach an impasse.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/12 October 2026 - - -