US soldier is identified after he was killed in ‘controlled detonation’ of Iranian drone

A soldier who was killed during a controlled demolition of a downed Iranian drone has been identified.

Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action at Erbil Air Base, Iraq, on Sunday. The incident remains under investigation.

Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

A second service member received a ‘minor injury’ during the detonation of the ‘unexploded ordnance’ from the drone, US Central Command said.

Swinton’s death adds to a US toll of 17 since the US and Iran launched the war against Iran on February 28. 

Two more soldiers, First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, were killed on Friday during Iranian strikes on a US airbase in Jordan.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the dignified transfer of the troops at Dover Air Force Base slated to take place Tuesday with Donald Trump in attendance  had been postponed. 

‘Scheduling Update: the dignified transfer is no longer taking place tomorrow,’ Leavitt wrote in a statement on social media. ‘The exact day and time are still being finalized.’