Jordan drone attack
U.S. Central Command said a U.S. military barracks in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border was attacked by a drone Saturday night, killing three U.S. military personnel and injuring at least 34 others. It is believed that this is the first US military personnel to be killed by enemy fire in nearly four months since the outbreak of the Israel-Kazakhstan war.
US President Joe Biden blamed Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq for the attack in Jordan.
The identities of the three service members were not immediately released pending notification of their families. Biden called them “patriots in the highest sense of the word.”
“We will inherit their determination to fight terrorism,” Biden said, “and have no doubt that we will hold those responsible accountable at the time and manner of our choosing.”
The Washington Post reported that the Islamic Resistance Group in Iraq claimed that the group responsible for the attack includes Kataib Hezbollah, Nujabaa, and other Iran-backed militants.
An official with the organization told the Post, “As we have said, if the United States continues to support Israel, there will be escalation. All American interests there are legitimate targets, and we do not care about the threat of a U.S. response. We know where we are headed; martyrdom is our reward.”
This was one of a series of aerial attacks on U.S. troops there during the Gaza War. Although the United States has not participated in the Gaza war, it has firmly supported Israel’s efforts and rejected calls from some world leaders for an immediate ceasefire.
But U.S. officials say they are close to a deal that would give Gaza a two-month truce and release the remaining 100 or so hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas’s attack on Israel in October killed about 1,200 people, and Gaza officials said Israel’s counteroffensive killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Biden said in a statement, “The United States has a heavy heart today. Last night, our military garrison in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border, was attacked by a drone. Three American service members were killed, and many others were injured in Jordan.”
A U.S. Department of Defense official said some of the injured in the Jordan drone attack suffered brain injuries and needed to be sent to the hospital for treatment.
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