Three U.S. troops killed, up to 34 injured in Jordan drone strike linked to Iran

Three
U.S.
service
members
were
killed
and
dozens
wounded
during
an
unmanned
aerial
drone
attack
on
U.S.
forces
stationed
in
northeastern
Jordan
near
the
Syrian
border,
President
Joe
Biden
and
U.S.
officials
said
on
Sunday.

Biden
blamed
Iran-backed
groups
for
the
attack,
the
first
deadly
strike
against
U.S.
forces
since
the
Israel-Hamas
war
erupted
in
October
and
sent
shock
waves
throughout
the
Middle
East.

“While
we
are
still
gathering
the
facts
of
this
attack,
we
know
it
was
carried
out
by
radical
Iran-backed
militant
groups
operating
in
Syria
and
Iraq,”
Biden
said
in
a
statement.

At
least
34
personnel
were
being
evaluated
for
possible
traumatic
brain
injury,
a
U.S.
official
told
Reuters,
speaking
on
condition
of
anonymity.
Two
different
officials
said
some
wounded
U.S.
forces
were
medically
evacuated
from
the
base
for
further
treatment.

Two
U.S.
officials
said
the
drone
struck
near
the
barracks
early
in
the
morning,
which
could
explain
the
high
number
of
casualties.

The
Islamic
Resistance
in
Iraq,
an
umbrella
organization
of
hardline
Iran-backed
militant
groups,
claimed
attacks
on
three
bases,
including
one
on
the
Jordan-Syria
border.

The
attack
is
a
major
escalation
of
the
already
tense
situation
in
the
Middle
East,
where
war
broke
out
in
Gaza
after
Palestinian
Islamist
group
Hamas’
attack
on
Israel
on
Oct.
7
which
killed
1,200.
Israel’s
subsequent
assault
on
Gaza
has
killed
over
26,000
Palestinians,
according
to
the
local
health
ministry.

Since
then,
U.S.
forces
have
come
under
attack
more
than
150
times
by
Iran-backed
groups
in
Iraq
and
Syria,
causing
at
least
70
casualties
prior
to
Sunday’s
attack,
most
of
them
traumatic
brain
injuries.
U.S.
warships
have
also
been
fired
at
by
Iran-backed
Houthi
forces
in
Yemen,
who
are
regularly
attacking
commercial
ships
passing
through
Red
Sea
waters
off
Yemen’s
coast.

While
the
United
States
has
thus
far
maintained
an
official
line
that
Washington
is
not
at
war
in
the
region,
it
has
been
retaliating
against
the
Iran-backed
groups
in
Iraq
and
Syria
and
carrying
out
strikes
against
Yemen’s
Houthi
military
capabilities.

“We
will
carry
on
their
commitment
to
fight
terrorism.
And
have
no
doubt
–
we
will
hold
all
those
responsible
to
account
at
a
time
and
in
a
manner
of
our
choosing,”
Biden
said
in
his
statement
released
by
the
White
House.

Republican
opponents
of
Biden
seized
on
the
attack
as
evidence
of
the
Democratic
president’s
failure
to
confront
Iran
as
its
proxies
strike
against
U.S.
forces
across
the
region.

“The
only
answer
to
these
attacks
must
be
devastating
military
retaliation
against
Iran’s
terrorist
forces
…
Anything
less
will
confirm
Joe
Biden
as
a
coward,”
said
Republican
Senator
Tom
Cotton
in
a
statement.

A
senior
official
with
the
Iran-backed
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
Sami
Abu
Zuhri,
directly
tied
the
attack
to
Israel’s
campaign
in
Gaza.

“The
killing
of
three
American
soldiers
is
a
message
to
the
U.S.
administration
that
unless
the
killing
of
innocents
in
Gaza
stops,
it
must
confront
the
entire
nation,”
he
told
Reuters.

“The
continued
American-Zionist
aggression
on
Gaza
is
capable
of
exploding
the
situation
in
the
region.”

The
U.S.
military
said
the
attack
occurred
at
a
base
in
northeastern
Jordan,
near
the
Syrian
border.
It
did
not
name
the
base.
U.S.
military
activity
in
Jordan
can
be
a
sensitive
issue,
particularly
at
a
time
of
heightened
tensions
in
the
Israel-Hamas
conflict.

A
person
familiar
with
the
matter
identified
the
U.S.
base
in
Jordan
that
was
attacked
as
Tower
22.

A
Jordanian
government
spokesman
told
state
TV
that
the
militants
targeted
a
different
base,
outside
Jordanian
territory.

There
has
been
increasing
concern
in
Jordan
about
the
war
spreading.
Late
last
year,
Amman
asked
Washington
to
deploy
Patriot
air
defense
systems
to
bolster
its
border
defense.
It
has
requested
more
aid
to
tackle
drones
used
in
a
raging
multibillion-dollar
drug
war
along
the
border
with
Syria,
which
Amman
blames
on
pro-Iranian
militias
who
hold
sway
in
southern
Syria.
The
kingdom
has
hundreds
of
U.S.
trainers
in
the
country
and
holds
extensive
exercises
with
U.S.
troops
throughout
the
year.