US Soldier Killed in Iraq While Disposing of Iranian Drone Explosives

JAKARTA - The Pentagon today identified a US soldier who died in Iraq. Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed while conducting a "controlled detonation" of a disposable drone system on July 19 in Iraq.

Swinton is from Fayetteville, North Carolina.

"Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action while conducting a controlled detonation of a disposable drone system that fell on July 19, 2026 at Erbil Air Base, Iraq. This incident is under investigation," the Department of Defense said in a statement. reported by CNN, Tuesday, July 21.

US Central Command earlier announced that two US soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan and a US military member was killed in northern Iraq while conducting a controlled detonation of remnants of explosives from an Iranian-owned disposable attack drone that fell.