US identifies soldier killed in Iraq

The Pentagon on Tuesday identified a US solider who was recently killed in action in Iraq.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed during a “controlled detonation” of a one-way drone system on July 19 in Iraq. Swinton was from Fayetteville in the Southern state of North Carolina.

“Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System on July 19, 2026, at Erbil Air Base, Iraq. The incident is under investigation,” the Defense Department said in a statement.

Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion of the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the statement added.

The Pentagon confirmed three US deaths over the weekend, including two at a military base in Jordan and one in northern Iraq.

The US has escalated attacks against Iran since last week, with Iran retaliating with strikes targeting facilities and bases it says are used by the US military in several regional countries

The exchange of fire between the two countries comes despite a Pakistani-brokered framework agreement signed in June to end the war and reach a lasting peace deal.​​​​​​​