No warning, no siren: Six US service members killed in Iranian strike that hit makeshift operations center in Kuwait

Source: CNN Politics

Updated Mar 2, 2026, 4:47 PM ET
PUBLISHED Mar 2, 2026, 4:43 PM ET


The first US service members to die in the conflict between the US and Iran were killed by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday morning local time, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

The death toll from that event at the Shuaiba port has since risen to six, US Central Command announced on Monday afternoon, after the remains of two additional service members were recovered.

Earlier Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the strike that killed the service members hit a “tactical operation center that was fortified,” but there was “one” projectile that made it through air defenses. CNN previously reported the event was a suspected drone strike.

The source familiar said it was a direct hit just after 9 a.m. local time, on the center of the building they described as a triple-wide trailer with office space inside. The attack came quickly and with no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker, the source said. Hours after the strike, fire was still smoldering in some parts of the building, the source described – the inside of the makeshift operations center blackened and the walls blown outwards from the blast, some parts peeling away from the building.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/six-soldiers-killed-in-iranian-strike-kuwait