THREE US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN JORDAN DRONE ATTACK, SAYS BIDEN

Three US service members have been killed and “many” others wounded during an unmanned aerial drone attack on US forces stationed in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden has said, blaming Iran-backed groups for the attack.

The United States military said in a statement that at least 25 people were injured.

Biden said the US “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing.”

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

 

Jordanian state television quoted Muhannad Mubaidin, a spokesperson for Jordan’s government, as saying the attack happened outside of the kingdom across the border in Syria.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

The deaths are the first fatalities of US troops in the Middle East since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7.

The attack comes amid soaring tensions in the region, where Israel continues its war on Gaza in response to an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel that killed at least 1,139 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 26,400 people, according to Palestinian officials in the besieged territory.

A satellite photo of Tower 22 in north-eastern Jordan, on 12 October 2023, where US officials as the site of an attack. Jordan says the attack occurred in the al-Tanf air base in Syria. Photograph: Planet Labs PBC/AP

In recent weeks, Iran-backed armed groups have intensified their attacks on US military bases in Iraq and neighbouring Syria in response to the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar said there have been more than 100 attacks on US bases in the Middle East since Israel launched its assault on Gaza.

“Iran’s position so far … has been quite clear. They say that these attacks are not conducted and planned by Iran. They say that Iran has allies across the region. However, these allies also make decisions based on their own decisions,” he said.

“Iranians do not want a regional escalation. The Iranian officials know a direct military confrontation with Israel also means a war with the US which could be a deadly one for Iran.

“So, Iran so far has avoided direct military confrontation with Israel and it has instead asked its allies to act. Iran’s response has been through its allies like Yemen’s Houthis, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and many other groups in Syria and Iraq.”

But Colin Clark, senior research fellow at the Soufan Group told Al Jazeera that these attacks have proved that now there is a regional war.

“There is no denying that. US troops have been killed and the US will respond forcefully whether that is in Iran proper or against the Iranian proxies in the various countries where they operate,” he said.

“Iran can choose to distance itself as much as it wants but it funds, trains and equips these groups….The Biden administration will be under immense pressure to show the US is not going to sit back and watch its troops being killed by these Iranian-backed groups,” he added.

“The question now becomes what shape this response will take.”