Three U.S. service members were killed and five others seriously injured during American strikes on Iran, marking the first U.S. casualties in a major offensive that President Donald Trump warned could lead to additional losses in the coming weeks. The deceased were Army soldiers stationed in Kuwait, handling supply and logistics duties.

U.S. Central Command confirmed the deaths on X but did not provide details on timing or location. Minor injuries, such as shrapnel wounds and concussions, were reported for others, who are expected to return to duty. Trump, in a video on Truth Social, called the fallen “true American patriots” and said the U.S. would avenge their deaths, while also acknowledging that more casualties are likely. He told the Daily Mail the conflict could last about four weeks and that troop losses were expected in war.

Following U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other officials, Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. bases in Bahrain and the UAE, though claims of missile hits on the USS Abraham Lincoln were denied by the U.S. military. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened further intense attacks on U.S. and Israeli forces.

Trump had previously increased the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, deploying aircraft carriers including the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford along with destroyers. His administration has conducted other military operations, including strikes on Islamic State forces in Syria and Nigeria, and the January operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro, leaving several U.S. troops injured but no fatalities.