The Pentagon released the name of the U.S. soldier killed Sunday during the controlled disposal of an Iranian drone at a base in Erbil, Iraq, N12 reports. The New York Times, citing a U.S. official, said Sgt. Michael Emanuel Swinton, 30, was not involved in the detonation but was killed by shrapnel.
The Pentagon on Tuesday identified the U.S. soldier killed Sunday in an incident at a base in Erbil, Iraq, as Sgt. Michael Emanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina. Swinton died during the controlled disposal of an Iranian drone, according to a report by N12. The New York Times, citing a U.S. official, reported that Swinton was not part of the disposal team but was struck by debris from the explosion. The identification marks the latest update in a sequence of reports that began Sunday evening.
All of the thread's earlier updates were published at 22:14 Jerusalem time on Sunday. First, CENTCOM confirmed a U.S. service member had been killed in northern Iraq. Then i24NEWS reported the soldier died in the explosion of a downed Iranian drone. The U.S. Army subsequently confirmed the death occurred during a controlled explosion of the drone. Finally, the New York Times, citing a U.S. official, revealed that the soldier was not a bomb technician but was hit by shrapnel from the detonation.
Swinton's death was one of three U.S. soldier fatalities in a 24-hour period, as The Zioneer reported on Sunday evening, citing the U.S. Army. The other two soldiers were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a base in Jordan, where remains were found at the impact site.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and further details about the exact circumstances of the controlled explosion have not been released.
5 developments
- StrongUS Army confirms body of missing soldier found in Jordan, reports another soldier killed in Iraq
- DevelopingAnalyst Chananel Aviv reports suicide drone hits in Erbil, northern Iraq
- StrongUS Identifies Both Soldiers Killed in Iranian Strike on Jordan Base: Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas
- DevelopingShiite sources report downing of US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Karbala, Iraq
Source and signal
- Internal intake