US attacks Iranian oil export base, sends Marines to Middle East
The United States attacked several military targets on Kharg Island, a major hub for Iranian oil exports, and ordered 2,500 Marines to deploy to the Middle East.
The number of U.S. soldiers injured in the Iran war has risen to 200, a total of 60 more than the Pentagon last announced six days ago, said Col. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
Hawkins said 10 service members are currently seriously injured. The majority suffered minor injuries, and more than 180 of them have returned to duty.
After the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28, Iran retaliated with sustained drone and missile attacks on U.S. allies and U.S. military bases hosting them in the region.
On March 12, a KC-135 refueling plane crashed in Iraq, killing six crew members, bringing the number of U.S. soldiers killed in the war to 13.
Three of the soldiers on board were from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., and Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Captain Arianna G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington. And technology. Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky. Three are from Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio, and two are Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Captain Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio. And technology. Sergeant Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.
Seven other service members were killed in Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases. Six soldiers were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait. Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Sergeant Declan J. Cody, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa. and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan (age 54, resident of Sacramento, California). All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, was killed in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia. According to the Department of Defense, he was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Families of soldiers killed in the KC-135 crash criticized the Iran war in interviews over the weekend. “This could have been prevented,” Stephen Douglas, a cousin of the slain 28-year-old technical sergeant Simmons, told NBC affiliate WCMH in Columbus, Ohio. “We didn’t have to be in this war. This is inevitable and this is what we get.”
The war, now in its third week, has killed around 2,000 people across the Middle East, including at least 1,330 Iranians, according to the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. Israel has stepped up attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 800 people. According to Reuters, an Iranian missile attack killed nine Israelis and two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
