A U.S. Army soldier killed in Iraq has been identified as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old father of two from Fayetteville, North Carolina, who died on Sunday during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone at an air base in Irbil. His death comes amid renewed fighting between the United States and Iran, now in its 10th day, with American forces across the Middle East increasingly exposed to Iranian strikes and retaliatory attacks.

Swinton, who enlisted in 2017 and served with the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment out of Fort Bragg, will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge; the Army is investigating the circumstances of his death. He leaves behind a wife, a six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. His death follows the killing of two other U.S. soldiers in Jordan last week, the first American troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the war began, while Iran says U.S. strikes have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 in the past three weeks. President Trump, who argues the conflict is necessary to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, faces growing pressure to end the war as oil prices rise.