Report Claims US Changed Casualty Tracking After Iranian Retaliatory Strikes

The US Department of War has reportedly introduced a new system for tracking military casualties linked to Iran’s retaliatory strikes, separating personnel killed or wounded after July 7 from those recorded during the earlier phase of the conflict. According to an investigative report by The Intercept, casualties sustained since July 7 are now listed on a separate “Overseas Operations” webpage instead of being included in the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), which covers losses incurred during the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran between February 27 and April 7.

The report states that the new page lists 273 US troops as killed or wounded since July 7. When combined with casualties previously recorded during Iran’s retaliation to the 40-day conflict, the official US casualty figure reaches 704 personnel. However, The Intercept said its own investigation identified additional known casualties absent from official records, estimating that the overall number exceeds 900 service members.

According to the report, the casualties recorded since July 7 represent an 83 percent increase over those reported during the earlier phase of the conflict. It also cited a previous report quoting an anonymous US official who said Iran had significantly enhanced its ability to target American military installations across West Asia by combining attack drones with advanced ballistic missiles. Since July 9, Iran is said to have launched retaliatory strikes against at least nine US military bases in the region, with several facilities reportedly sustaining significant damage.