WASHINGTON, United States: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied claims of USS Abraham Lincoln deaths, alleging seven sailors died in an onboard brawl during the carrier’s Middle East deployment.
CENTCOM issued its rebuttal on August 14 after Iran’s state-owned Mehr News Agency published the allegation on August 12. Mehr cited Tasnim News Agency, which attributed the claim to an anonymous military source.
Fact-checking outlet Snopes said it could not locate the purported Tasnim report in either English or Persian. It also found no independent confirmation from established news organisations.
CENTCOM spokesperson Emma Thompson told Snopes that the reports were false. The command said no service member aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln had died during the deployment.
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CENTCOM said one sailor fell overboard on August 3 but was recovered quickly and safely by the crew.
The command added that the aircraft carrier had spent more than 260 days at sea during its extended deployment.
