Pentagon identifies fifth US service member killed after Iranian attack in Kuwait

The Defense Department on Wednesday night revealed the identity of a fifth U.S. service member who died after an Iranian drone struck a tactical operations center in Kuwait over the weekend. According to a Pentagon statement, Maj. Major Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, died Sunday at the port of Shuaiba when an unmanned aircraft system struck the site. O'Brien was serving in the Army Reserve. The drone strike left a total of six U.S. military personnel dead, and came a day after the United States and Israel executed military operations against Iran in which they neutralized Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Official reports detailed that the Iranian drone struck a temporary office facility without any apparent advance warning.

The Defense Department also released the name of Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class Robert M. Marzan, 54, from Sacramento, Calif., as an individual "believed to be" another Army Reserve member killed in the attack. "The positive identification of Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner," the Pentagon said in a separate statement.

During morning hours Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the six soldiers will be honored through a dignified transfer ceremony. "President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families," she said during a White House press briefing.

U.S. officials had previously identified among the deceased as Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, from West Des Moines, Iowa; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, from White Bear Lake, Minn.; Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, from Winter Haven, Fla.; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, from Bellevue, Neb.