USS Stark incident
| USS Stark incident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Iran–Iraq War's Tanker War | |||||||
USS Stark listing after being struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States | Iraq | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Glenn R. Brindel | Abdul Rahman | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| USS Stark | Iraqi Air Force | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
Sea: 1 frigate Air: 1 aircraft | 1 aircraft | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
37 killed 21 wounded 1 frigate damaged | None | ||||||
The USS Stark incident occurred during the Iran–Iraq War in the Persian Gulf on 17 May 1987, when an Iraqi jet aircraft fired two Exocet missiles at the U.S. frigate USS Stark. A total of 37 United States Navy personnel were killed or later died as a result of the attack, and 21 were injured. Iraq apologized, and Saddam Hussein said that the pilot mistook the frigate for an Iranian tanker.