16 US service members have died in the Iran war, reflecting a conflict fought largely in the air

BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (AP) — The U.S. military said on Saturday that two additional service members were killed as part of the war with Iran, bringing the total number of deaths to 16.The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American boots don’t need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As of Saturday afternoon, he had yet to issue a statement on the latest set of deaths that occurred in Jordan, with the White House instead sending the statement issued by U.S. Central Command.

First fatalities came soon after the war startedShortly after the war began on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses.A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.