Pentagon IDs 3rd U.S. Soldier Killed in Iran-Linked Weekend Attacks

The Pentagon identified Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, NC, as the third U.S. service member killed over the weekend in Iran-related hostilities, saying he died during a controlled detonation while destroying a downed Iranian drone at Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq; a second service member was injured. Swinton will receive Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge posthumously and be promoted to staff sergeant. The weekend also claimed Pvt. Isabella Gonzales and First Lt. Tyler James Feehan after an Iranian missile strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in eastern Jordan, bringing the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to 17.