A drone strike on a tiny US outpost in Jordan claimed the lives of three US Army soldiers and injured at least twenty others, according to CNN.
Since the start of the Gaza war, this was the first time that enemy fire in the Middle East had claimed the lives of US soldiers. The incident happened overnight.
The incident intensified the already unstable situation in the area and targeted Tower 22 in Jordan, which is close to the Syrian border. US officials claim that the drone in question appeared to have originated in Syria and was launched by insurgents with Iranian support.
The one-way drone strike that targeted a site in northeast Jordan resulted in the deaths of three military members and the injuries of twenty-five, according to official confirmation from US Central Command.
Claiming that the attack was carried out by radical groups operating in Syria and Iraq with support from radical Iran, President Joe Biden vowed to hold those responsible for it accountable.
“These service members risked their personal safety for the safety of their fellow Americans and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism,” President Biden said, describing them as “the very best of our nation: unwavering in their bravery, unflinching in their duty, unbending in their commitment to our country.”
He stressed that the United States would select the timing and method for holding the accountable parties.
More than 158 attacks on US and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria have been reported as of last Friday. Drones, rockets, and missiles are constantly being fired, although the majority have been judged ineffective and have only slightly damaged or injured targets. The reason behind the air defences’ inability to intercept the drone on this specific occasion is still unknown.
Since the assault on American and coalition forces started on October 17, this is the first attack that is known to have occurred on Tower 22. The outpost’s US personnel are working with Jordan on an advisory and assistance mission. Despite the rising frequency of attacks, officials reaffirmed that they would not want to see escalated tensions turn into a regional conflict.
In a previously aired interview, General CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underlined the US objective of stopping the violence from spreading throughout the Middle East. “We don’t want to go down a path of greater escalation that leads to a much broader conflict within the region,” he said. “The goal is to deter them.”
Although several injuries have been reported since the attacks started, the majority have been classified as minor by the Pentagon. One American soldier was critically hurt in an incident that occurred on Christmas Day in Iraq, according to a senior military officer, out of about seventy injuries. Following a catastrophic injury sustained in a drone strike on Erbil Airbase, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was scheduled to return to the United States for additional medical attention.
The US has launched many retaliatory operations in Syria and Iraq in reaction to the growing threat posed by organisations backed by Iran. According to CNN, the most recent attack happened last week and targeted three locations that Kataib Hezbollah and other organisations with ties to Iran use. (ANI)