19-Year-Old Army Private Isabella Gonzales Killed in Iran’s Strike on Jordan Base

One of the two US soldiers who passed away during Iran’s missile strike on an airbase in Jordan was a 19-year-old Army private from Carrollton, Texas, the Pentagon reported on Monday, revealing the first combat losses for the US side in the ongoing Iran-US War since March.

Pvt. Isabella Gonzales died on the battlefield on Friday during Iran’s strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, according to the Pentagon. The second victim, 25-year-old 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, was also killed on the battlefield on Saturday.

Gonzales was serving in the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany, as reported in the Pentagon’s press release. Both of the victims worked in air defense units tasked with protecting American troops from enemy planes, according to the WLT Report.

The two were participating in Operation Inherent Resolve, which is a joint military campaign of the United States of America and other countries against the Islamic State organization, the Pentagon added.

The case is currently under investigation.

According to U.S. Central Command, the two American soldiers died in the process of defending the base against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. As stated by The Aviationist, referring to some open sources, two missiles hit the base, and one service member was missing in action; four more were injured and evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

CBS News reported that the four had already been discharged, while other troops with minor injuries were treated and returned to active service.

Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located around 80 kilometers (50 miles) outside of Amman and is used to base US fighter jets, with the base also used for strikes on Iran, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing The Wall Street Journal. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the strike on Twitter, CNN reported.

CNN reported that the victims increase the death toll among US service members to 16 since the beginning of the conflict that has lasted for around five months now. The death toll includes six Army Reserve soldiers killed on March 1 during the strike on Shuaiba port in Kuwait and another six killed shortly after in a crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq.

According to the officials, there was no hostile fire causing the crash. Pentagon’s chief Pete Hegseth left a message, “Godspeed, heroes,” on his post on X. President Donald Trump called the deaths “very sad” in an interview with NewsNation.