Pentagon Denies Manipulating US Troop Death Toll, Blames 'Temporary Data Glitch'

US Department of Defence spokesman Sean Parnell on Friday denied media reports suggesting the number of US troop casualties listed on the Pentagon website had been reduced for reasons other than a temporary data glitch. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the US troop death toll on the Pentagon site had suddenly dropped from 18 to 14. The newspaper suggested one possible reason was that President Donald Trump’s administration had removed the names of four soldiers killed last weekend because their deaths occurred after Trump announced a ceasefire amid the conflict with Iran in April. “This is one of the worst examples of the fake news industry, making up lies for no reason other than to cause concern among the American people. Our Pentagon Press Office has contacted The New York Times by telephone, informally, to explain in detail that the error on the Defence Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) website was caused by a temporary data glitch,” Parnell wrote on platform X. He added that the Pentagon was working with the US military to resolve the issue. Since 8 July, the US military has launched a number of strikes against Iran, with Trump stating that the ceasefire was no longer in effect. US Central Command said the strikes were in response to Iranian actions against commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s military retaliated by launching attacks on several US bases in Middle Eastern countries, accusing America of violating the ceasefire.