Hegseth says four U.S. troops were killed in strike on tactical operations center in Kuwait

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday that the four American service members who were killed over the weekend died when an incoming munition hit a tactical operations center in Kuwait.

“We have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while you might have one, unfortunately we call it a squirter, that makes its way through,” he said. “And in that particular case, it happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons.”

Iran has targeted U.S. military and commercial interests in at least five Persian Gulf nations and in the surrounding waterways since the U.S.-Israeli assault began on Saturday, lashing out with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones.

Hegseth said the losses “only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we do this properly.”

U.S. Central Command said Sunday that three service members were killed and then announced Monday that a fourth, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial retaliatory attacks, had “succumbed to their injuries.”

The Defense Department has not yet disclosed the identities of those killed, pending notifications of their families.