The US military has confirmed that Sgt Angel S Rampersad, 28, of New York, is the third service member believed to have died in the Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on a base in Jordan on Friday, July 18, 2026. This confirmation raises the total number of US service members killed since the war began to 18.

Earlier, the Pentagon identified 1st Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, as the two other soldiers killed in the same attack. These deaths mark the first US troop fatalities from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the conflict.

The soldiers were deployed to support a US mission against the Islamic State group, according to a US Central Command statement. Following the attack, US Central Command announced that two service members were killed and one was missing. The next day, unidentified remains were found, and an examination process to verify them was underway. The Pentagon now states that Rampersad is believed to be the missing soldier, with her official status listed as “Duty Status-Whereabouts Unknown” and she is “believed to be deceased.”

Separately, another US soldier, Sgt Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old father from North Carolina who had served nearly a decade, was killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.

Iranian authorities have reported that US strikes in the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others.

Sources