Pentagon changes casualty reporting method amid criticism over undercounted totals
The update introduced a new category separating casualties since July 7 from the earlier phase of the war, a move that has drawn criticism from lawmakers
The Pentagon updated its official casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members after reducing the figures just days earlier. Under the new system, casualties since July 7, when fighting restarted, are listed on a new webpage labeled "Overseas Operations Casualties" rather than alongside earlier war casualties. Meaning, a full accounting requires adding numbers from separate pages.
The change restored the deaths of four soldiers killed last weekend, but in a separate, unexplained category.
According to the updated database, the toll for the earlier phase of the war, Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 service members killed and more than 400 wounded. Combined with the new Overseas Operations figures, the total shows 18 US troops killed and 624 wounded since the war began on February 28, restoring the previously reported death toll after it had briefly been lowered to 14.
The shift is tied to the War Powers Act of 1973, which requires the president to end military operations within 60 days unless Congress authorizes an extension. The Trump administration has argued that the April ceasefire paused the clock on May 1 for the conflict's initial period, with the separate casualty count beginning July 7 following that interpretation.
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Last week, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had insisted the number of troops injured since July 7 was fewer than 100, saying, "Claims of concealment are fabrications meant to further distress the American people in the wake of three service members killed in action." Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez attributed the earlier discrepancy to "temporary data disruptions" on the website.
A group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting a "comprehensive accounting" of casualties, writing, "The American people, Congress, service members and their families are entitled to a full and accurate accounting of the human costs of war."