The Pentagon is facing questions after four U.S. service members killed during the conflict with Iran were temporarily omitted from an official online casualty count, prompting criticism from lawmakers before Defense Department officials said the issue resulted from a technical error.
The Pentagon’s publicly available casualty tracker listed 18 U.S. military deaths related to the conflict as of Wednesday. By Thursday, the total had dropped to 14.
A Pentagon official told The Washington Post that the discrepancy was caused by “temporary data disruptions” affecting the casualty website and said the error would be corrected.
The change prompted criticism from several lawmakers and commentators, who questioned why the four service members were no longer included in the publicly reported total.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (D) criticized the omission on social media, while other critics alleged the removal understated the human cost of the conflict.
The four service members affected by the discrepancy were identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii; Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of New York; and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, who were killed during Iranian strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Also omitted from the online tally was Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina, who died in Iraq while conducting a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
The Pentagon has not stated that the service members should be excluded from the official casualty total and attributed the discrepancy to the website disruption.
The incident comes as the Trump administration continues military operations against Iran following the collapse of a ceasefire reached earlier this year.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have maintained that U.S. operations have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities.
At the same time, Iranian forces have continued launching missile and drone attacks against U.S. positions in the region, including the strike in Jordan that killed three of the four service members involved in the reporting discrepancy.
According to Pentagon figures cited in the report, more than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded during the conflict, though officials have acknowledged the number could increase as additional reports are finalized.
Federal law requires the Defense Department to report military fatalities, while injury reporting follows different disclosure requirements.
Some administration officials have previously argued that releasing detailed information about the effectiveness of Iranian attacks could affect operational security.
The casualty reporting issue also surfaced as Hegseth testified before Congress in support of additional emergency defense funding. During the hearing, lawmakers from both parties questioned the administration about the conduct and cost of the military campaign.
The Pentagon has said the online casualty count will be updated to accurately reflect the service members killed during the conflict.
