Defense

Senate Democrats probe attack that killed 6 US troops in Kuwait amid Iran war

Comments:

by Filip Timotija - 04/27/26 5:48 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Filip Timotija - 04/27/26 5:48 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

A group of Senate Democrats are investigating an early March attack on U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait, where six service members were killed and another 20 were injured amid the U.S. war with Iran.

The four Democrats – Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) – all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee – are probing if the Pentagon did enough to protect the troops who came under Iranian drone attack on March 1.

“Secretary Hegseth sent our troops to fight in Iran, refused to take basic steps to protect them, and then tried to cover up his failures when service members died. Hegseth’s leadership has been one betrayal after another — he must be held accountable,” Warren, who led the 4-page letter, which was addressed to the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said in a statement.

The letter came after several members of the unit spoke with CBS News about the attack, warning that the compound was not sufficiently fortified.

“Painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” one of the injured soldiers told the news outlet. “I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”

A day after the attack, Hegseth told reporters during the press briefing that the Iranian drone was a “squirter” that “happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these were powerful weapons.”

“While the post did have steel-reinforced concrete barriers to protect against the blast of a mortar, rocket, or car bomb, there were no ‘American counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system at Shuaiba port that could be used to bring down incoming drones or other deadly munitions.’ Iran was estimated to have thousands to tens of thousands of drones ready to use in retaliation at the time the war was started,” the senators wrote in the letter.

The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

The senators asked the Pentagon about who was responsible for assessing the risk to the post, which risks the Defense Department was aware of prior to the attack and if the department’s leadership believed that 6-foot walls around the outpost were enough to protect against Iran’s retaliation. They gave the Pentagon until May 11 to respond to the questions.

“The safety and well-being of our service members should be a top priority for DoD leadership. That requires careful consideration of major operations like Epic Fury and plans to prevent possible harm from foreseeable attacks, like retaliation with drone strikes,” the senators wrote.

Add as preferred source on Google