Pentagon’s count leaves out some deaths in Middle East during Iran war

The Pentagon’s public database left out two deaths of U.S. service members deployed in the Middle East during the war against Iran, who took part in missions unrelated to the conflict in the Middle East.

Maj. Sorffly Davius, who served in the 42nd Infantry Division at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, died of “undetermined causes” on March 6 this year. The release announcing his death said he deployed to Kuwait in the summer of 2025 in support of Operation Spartan Shield.

Sgt. Devin Seibel, who was assigned to the Air Ambulance Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Carson, Colo., died on May 31 in Erbil Airbase, Iraq, during a “training-related incident,” the Pentagon said in a June press release . Seibel, whose death is under investigation, deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Their deaths are not included in the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), which came under fire earlier this year for briefly excluding names of several U.S. service members who were killed because of Iranian military attacks.

Eighteen service members have been killed since the U.S. war with Iran began in late February — including in hostile and non-hostile action — and more than 800 have been injured, the DCAS database said as of Friday.

The Washington Post first reported Friday on Davius and Seibel’s exclusion from the DCAS and that at least another two service members have died in the Middle East during the Iran conflict who are not included in the database, citing five U.S. officials, bringing the death toll from the war to a minimum of 22.

A sixth U.S. official told the news outlet that 23 service members have died since Feb. 28, which is when the U.S. military kicked off Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration’s name for the war against Iran. This source added that three U.S. contractors who were based in the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) region have died since the conflict began.

The Pentagon’s press office did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at the news outlet, calling the report “DISGUSTING and FAKE.”

“Shame on the Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media,” the defense secretary said in a post .

Earlier this year, the Pentagon’s death toll database came under fire from Congressional Democrats after names of four U.S. service members who were killed during renewed Iranian strikes were temporarily removed from DCAS. The department later restored their deaths into the database.

Fourteen deaths are listed in the DCAS under the category Operation Epic Fury as of Friday . Four other deaths are listed in another section dubbed “Overseas Operations,” which coincided with the July 7 ceasefire date between the U.S. and Iran.

Senate Democrats, who all sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, pressed Hegseth in late July to provide a “full and accurate accounting” of the U.S. service member casualties during the war with Iran, adding that the Pentagon’s DCAS “has reported inconsistent casualty figures, raising additional questions about the transparency and reliability of the Department’s public reporting and statements.”

In the lower chamber, Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) have sent multiple congressional Requests for Information (RFI) asking the Pentagon about the discrepancy between the casualties listed on DCAS and the actual figures, two sources familiar with the requests told The Hill on Friday.

The Pentagon has not responded to these lawmakers, sources said.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the HASC ranking member, said Friday that he is “aware” of the reports that the actual number of U.S. service members who died while backing operations in the Middle East is likely higher than previously disclosed by the Pentagon.

“Whether these additional deaths were the direct result of hostile fire or were non-combat related, they died while serving our country and each loss is a tragedy,” Smith said in a statement , adding that the department “owes” it to Congress and the American public to be “more transparent about the impacts and true cost of this war.”

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger and HASC member, accused Hegseth on Friday of “covering up” the deaths of U.S. service members and contractors.

“It’s a betrayal of the men & women who have served and sacrificed for our country,” Crow said in a post on social platform X.

The Colorado lawmaker added that he is introducing a bill, alongside other Democratic HASC members, to bar the Pentagon from “manipulating government data on troop casualties and therefore hiding the human cost of war.”