Middle East
US Army Green Berets drive through a partner-force checkpoint after a joint patrol near Al-Tanf Garrison in April 2020. Photo: US Army/Staff Sgt. William Howard
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least three United States service members were killed and 25 others injured as a result of a drone attack on an American military base in northeast Jordan, near the Syrian border, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday. US President Joe Biden accused Iran-affiliated militias of carrying out the attack.
“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,” read a statement from Biden, describing the strike as a "despicable and wholly unjust attack."
"We will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing," Biden added.
Last night, three U.S. service members were killed, and many wounded, during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 28, 2024
Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen in grieving the loss of these warriors in this…
A spokesperson for the Jordanian government told state media that the attack did not take place on Jordanian territory, but rather targeted the Al-Tanf Garrison in Syria. Al-Tanf is located near the Syrian border with Jordan.
Iran-aligned militias have struck bases of the international coalition in Iraq and Syria with rockets and drones over 140 times since October 17, against the backdrop of Washington’s support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip. US forces have responded with several retaliatory strikes.
This is the first time US personnel have been directly killed by Iran-affiliated militia strikes since October 17. One civilian contractor died of a heart attack during a drone attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq's Anbar province. Multiple “non-serious” injuries among the troops have also been reported.
Earlier in the day, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed to have struck with drones three “enemy bases” in Syria, including Al-Tanf Garrison and Rukban base near the Jordanian border.
The group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on American bases.
American retaliatory attacks in Iraq have killed at least 12 members of the Iraqi state-linked and Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The Iraqi government has repeatedly condemned the strikes as a "violation" of its sovereignty.
Earlier this month, the US and the UK launched a series of aerial and navy strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group’s repeated attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The strikes were conducted with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
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