Three U.S. soldiers were killed and 25 wounded Sunday in a drone strike in northeastern Jordannear the border with Syriareported the military forces of USA.
US President Joe Biden blamed Iranian-backed militias for the first US fatalities in months of attacks on US forces in the Middle East by Iranian-backed militias amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
Facing a conflict that has increased the risk of military escalation, U.S. officials are still working to conclusively identify the precise group responsible for the attack, but have assessed that the culprit is one of several Iranian-backed groups.
Biden stressed that the United States “will hold all those responsible accountable at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
Iranian-backed fighters in eastern Syria have begun evacuating their posts for fear of U.S. airstrikes, according to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who runs the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet. He told The Associated Press that the areas are the strongholds of Mayadeen and Boukamal.
According to a U.S. official, the number of soldiers injured in the one-way drone attack rose to 34. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that were not made public, said a large drone hit the base, which two other US officials identified as a facility in Jordan known as Tower 22. It is located along the border with Syria and is primarily used by troops involved in the advise and assist mission to Jordanian forces.
The small facility, which Jordan does not publicly disclose, includes American engineering, aviation, logistics and security troops.
The US military base at al-Tanf in Syria is just 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Tower 22. The Jordanian facility provides a critical logistics hub for US forces in Syria, including those at al-Tanf, which is near the intersection of the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
Jordanian state television quoted Muhannad Mubaidin, a government spokesman, insisting that the attack occurred outside the kingdom, across the border in Syria. But US authorities insisted the attack took place in Jordan.
U.S. troops have long used Jordan — a kingdom that borders Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian West Bank, Saudi Arabia and Syria — as a base. U.S. Central Command said 25 service members were wounded in the attack in addition to the three killed.
About 3,000 American troops are usually stationed in Jordan.
Since Israel’s war against Hamas began on October 7 in the Gaza Strip, US military bases in Iraq and Syria have suffered drone and missile attacks. Sunday’s attack represents the first attack against American troops in Jordan during the war between Israel and Hamas and is the first to claim American lives. Other attacks have seriously injured US military personnel, including some causing traumatic brain injuries.
The militias have said their attacks are retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza and have also signaled that they intend to expel US forces from the region.
In recent months, the United States has struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to respond to attacks against US forces in the region and to deter Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from continuing to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Biden was in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sunday morning when he was briefed on the attack by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, he said. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. He is expected to meet again with his national security team later Sunday.
Syria is still in the midst of a civil war and has long been a launching pad for Iranian-backed forces there, including the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Iraq also has multiple Iranian-backed Shiite militias operating there.
Jordan, a staunch Western ally and a crucial power in Jerusalem for its oversight of holy sites there, is suspected of launching bombings in Syria to disrupt drug trafficking networks, including an attack that killed nine people earlier this month.
Source: Gestion
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