The U.S. Military has identified North Carolina native Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton as the latest fatality in the war with Iran, noting that he was killed in Iraq while trying to disable an Iranian drone.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. military has identified the soldier killed while disarming an Iranian drone in Iraq as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Swinton died Sunday during a controlled detonation at an air base in Irbil, northern Iraq, while serving with the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based at Fort Bragg. 📺 DETAIL: The military said the incident remains under investigation and that a second service member suffered a minor injury and is receiving medical treatment. Swinton will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. His death came two days after 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan, marking the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since a ceasefire collapsed recently. The War Department said both soldiers had been deployed in support of the U.S. mission against the Islamic State group. Iranian authorities have claimed that U.S. strikes over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500, including eight fatalities in a bridge strike last Friday. The latest casualties have increased pressure on President Donald J. Trump to bring the conflict to a close and avoid a prolonged U.S. military engagement in the Middle East. 📺 FLASHBACK: Over the past three weeks, Iranian authorities have claimed U.S. strikes in the region have resulted in at least 50 deaths and more than 500 injuries. |
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