Washington — Three American service members have been killed and dozens extra have been injured in an unmanned aerial drone assault on a base in Jordan on Sunday, President Biden and the U.S. navy stated.
In an announcement, the president blamed the assault on ”radical Iran-backed militant teams working in Syria and Iraq.” Mr. Biden stated the assault occurred at a base in northeast Jordan, a U.S. ally, near the border with Syria. A U.S. official stated the assault occurred at an outpost often known as Tower 22.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees forces within the Center East, initially put the variety of injured at 25, however two U.S. officers quickly stated that determine had risen to greater than 30. CENTCOM stated the identities of these killed could be withheld for twenty-four hours after their households had been notified.
The strike was believed to be the deadliest assault on U.S. service members since 13 Individuals have been killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul because the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.
The drone strike comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran’s proxies within the area have soared to precarious heights in current weeks, elevating the chance of Israel’s struggle with Iranian-backed Hamas in Gaza erupting right into a broader regional battle.
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels started attacking transport vessels within the Crimson Sea in October to protest the struggle in Gaza. The U.S. and its allies began launching airstrikes in opposition to Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this month, hoping to place an finish to the transport assaults. On Friday, Houthi militants launched a missile at the usCarney, the primary time the group had focused a U.S. warship. The destroyer shot the missile down with none accidents.
The week earlier than, the U.S. navy stated two Navy SEALs have been misplaced at sea after they went overboard whereas attempting to board an Iranian vessel that was delivering ”superior standard weapons” to the Houthi rebels.
In his assertion on Sunday, Mr. Biden known as the assault in Jordan ”despicable and wholly unjust,” vowing that the U.S. ”will maintain all these accountable to account at a time and in a way our selecting.” The White Home stated high aides briefed the president in regards to the assault on Sunday morning, and a U.S. official stated a gathering is anticipated on the White Home later within the day relating to a response.
Congressional Republicans reacted angrily to information of the assault, calling on the Biden administration to retaliate in opposition to Iran. Home Speaker Mike Johnson stated the administration ”should ship a crystal clear message throughout the globe that assaults on our troops is not going to be tolerated.” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a distinguished GOP protection hawk, stated the U.S. ought to strike ”targets of significance” inside Iran itself to discourage future assaults.
”Hit Iran now,” Graham stated. ”Hit them laborious.”
Margaret Brennan contributed reporting.