Who were the US soldiers killed in Kuwait? Pentagon releases names of fallen service members
Washington: The Pentagon has identified four of the six U.S. soldiers killed in a drone attack in Kuwait as members of the Army Reserve who specialised in maintaining critical supply lines for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The soldiers, assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, were responsible for the logistical transport of food, equipment, and other essential supplies. They were killed on Sunday when an unmanned aircraft struck a command centre at Port Shuaiba, just one day after the launch of a joint U.S.-Israeli military offensive against Iran.
The Department of Defence identified the fallen as:
- Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska.
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
- Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was posthumously promoted from the rank of specialist.
The names of the remaining two service members killed in the attack have not yet been made public.
“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in a statement.
President Donald Trump addressed the loss of life on Tuesday, stating, “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
Among the fallen was Nicole Amor, who was reportedly within days of returning home to her husband and two children. Her husband, Joey Amor, described her as an avid gardener who enjoyed simple activities with her son, a high school senior, and her fourth-grade daughter.
“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,” Joey Amor said Tuesday. “She’s helped a lot of people through a lot of dark times, and brought a lot of light to this world.”
Sgt. Declan Coady, the youngest of the identified group, was an Eagle Scout and a student at Drake University. On his LinkedIn profile, Coady noted that his service had taught him to “interact with countless different kinds of people from all different backgrounds.”
In Nebraska, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts offered condolences for Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, a married father who was also remembered by family through social media photos showcasing their life together.
The drone strike in Kuwait was part of a larger retaliatory wave by Iran, which has targeted American military installations and Israeli interests across several Gulf nations in response to the weekend strikes on Iranian territory.
With inputs from AP