Over 50,000 U.S. troops involved in military strikes on Iran: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 50,000 U.S. service members are involved in the military strikes against Iran, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson claimed "those forces have established control over air and sea domains and struck thousands of identified Iranian targets, demonstrating operational dominance," according to a post on X by the U.S. Department of War.

The U.S. Central Command on Thursday reported about 6,000 targets struck, with more than 60 ships and 30 minelayers damaged or destroyed, the post added.

Weapons employed in the operation include a wide range of bombers, fighter jets, electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, missile defense platforms, artillery systems, warships, counter-drone equipment, refueling assets and cargo aircraft, said the post.

The Pentagon is also reportedly deploying an amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli, and around 2,500 Marines to the Middle East.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed Friday that all six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq on Thursday were dead, bringing the total number of U.S. service personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched joint military attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 to at least 13.

More than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 9,669 civilian sites destroyed in Iran in the strikes, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, said Tuesday.