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Ahmad al-Sharaa  ·  2026-07-20 00:00

U.S. military launches ninth night of strikes on Iran as soldier dies in Iraq

Washington, July 20 (SANA)TheU.S. militarysaid it carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran overnight, marking the ninth consecutive night of operations, while separately announcing the death of an American service member during an unexploded ordnance disposal mission in northern Iraq.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on X that the latest strikes were aimed at further degradingIranian militarycapabilities that it said had been used to target commercial vessels and civilian crews transiting the Strait ofHormuz.

The latest operation followed strikes announced on Sunday against Iranian military targets, including coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, naval assets, and missile and drone storage sites.

Separately, CENTCOM said oneU.S. service memberwas killed and another sustained minor injuries on July 18 while conducting a controlled disposal of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone innorthern Iraq.

The command also saidU.S. forcesrecovered unidentified human remains during a search at a site in Jordan that came under Iranian attack on Friday, adding that forensic examinations were underway to establish the individual’s identity.

On Saturday, the U.S. military announced that two American service members had been killed and another was missing in Jordan during operations on July 17, as U.S. and partner forces responded toIranian ballistic missileand drone attacks.