The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure from congressional Democrats to explain why US soldiers wounded in a March drone strike in Kuwait reportedly went more than a week without adequate hospital care. The incident occurred just days after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
In a letter sent on Wednesday to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Pat Ryan, lawmakers have posed 23 questions to the Pentagon. They are seeking answers by August 12 regarding the March 1 strike on a US logistics hub at port Shuaiba, south of Kuwait City.
The drone strike, which killed six reservists and wounded dozens, was the first US combat deaths of Operation Epic Fury. Reports cited in the letter indicate that the unit had previously requested more medical staff and supplies but was denied. Following the strike, there was reportedly no doctor on site, no fixed aid station, and only one ambulance, with some wounded driving themselves to a hospital.
The letter also questions the Pentagon's official count of US service members killed in the war on Iran, which decreased from 18 to 14 on July 23. Lawmakers cite reports suggesting four deaths were reclassified under a new "Overseas Operations" category after Trump's declared ceasefire in April, despite occurring after strikes on Iran had resumed.
This is the second time in a week that a US senator has pressed the Pentagon on its conduct of the war. On July 24, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine demanded answers by August 14 concerning pre-selected target lists used in the war's opening strikes, following a February 28 strike on a school in Minab, Iran, that killed over 150 civilians.