The Pentagon on Tuesday released the name of a U.S. soldier killed during the disposal of an Iranian drone in northern Iraq.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, died Saturday during a controlled detonation at Irbil Air Base. The incident is under investigation, the Pentagon said.

Swinton had been assigned to the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty, the commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said in a statement that Swinton’s death had “occurred during an operation to safeguard fellow soldiers.”

“His service will not be forgotten,” Rafferty added, “and his sacrifice is not in vain.”

The announcement came one day after the Pentagon released the names of two other soldiers killed in the war in recent days. They died in Jordan after an Iranian attack there Friday. There have now been 17 U.S. military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

The deaths came during a week of spiraling clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf, where tensions have worsened since the collapse of a ceasefire reached by the countries last month.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Jacey Fortin/Kenny Holston
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