Breaking: Pentagon Hid U.S. Troop Deaths, Trump Bans Major News Outlets With Colonel Larry Wilkerson (Video)

In this 18 September 2026 published video, host Mario Newfal talks with Colonel Larry Wilkerson.

The Pentagon is facing intense scrutiny following allegations that the U.S. military has underreported or hidden troop deaths during the ongoing conflict with Iran. A bombshell report published by The Washington Post on September 18, 2026, cites six U.S. officials who claim that the internal military death toll is higher than what is publicly available. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has strongly denied the report, calling the allegations a “complete lie” and “Disgusting and Fake” on social media. 

The Pentagon’s public database, the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), officially lists 18 U.S. service member deaths since the conflict began on February 28. The Washington Post report states that there have been at least 22 to 23 military fatalities, meaning at least four deaths have been omitted from public conflict tracking. The report also notes that three U.S. contractors have been killed. 

According to officials speaking to The Washington Post and separate tracking by military journalists, the discrepancy centers around how the Trump administration and the Pentagon classify and report casualties in the Middle East. 

Some of the undisclosed deaths involved personnel deployed to the region during ongoing hostilities whose fatalities were tied to “undetermined causes” or “training-related incidents” rather than direct hostile fire. For example, the deaths of Maj. Sorffly Davius (Kuwait) and Sgt. Devin Seibel (Iraq) were omitted from the main conflict database because they were assigned to separate operations like Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve. The Pentagon previously drew heavy criticism when its public war death toll briefly dropped from 18 to 14. Sources told The New York Times that the administration had temporarily removed four soldiers from the list because their deaths occurred after a cease-fire declaration, though the Pentagon later blamed the shift on a “temporary data disruption”. The Pentagon has also faced allegations of delayed reporting regarding wounded personnel. Officials admitted to withholding certain real-time strike and injury details—such as mild concussions from drone attacks—citing operational security to prevent Iranian forces from gauging the effectiveness of their missile strikes. 

The reports have sparked fierce pushback from lawmakers. House Armed Services Committee members, including Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), have accused defense leadership of “covering up” the true human cost of the war. In response, Democratic lawmakers have announced legislation aimed at barring the Pentagon from manipulating or delaying troop casualty data.