Washington: At least three US service members were killed and many were wounded in a drone attack in Jordan by ‘Iran-backed’ militant groups, news agency AP quoted US President Joe Biden as saying in a statement on 28 January.
It is the first time American military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and the incident will further raise tensions in the region and fuel fears of a broader conflict directly involving Iran.
Hamas said the death of the soldiers shows Washington’s backing for Israel could put it at odds with the whole Muslim world if the Gaza war continues and that it could lead to a “regional explosion.”
“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,” Biden said in a statement.
All the killed US service members were the first US fatalities in months of strikes against American forces across the Middle East by Iranian-backed militias amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. This has increased the risk of escalation in the region.
The US President mentioned that the United States ‘will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing’.
According to details, the Saturday night attack took place in northeast Jordan, near the border with Syria. At least 34 personnel were being evaluated for possible traumatic brain injury, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Two different officials said some wounded U.S. forces were medically evacuated from the base for further treatment.
However, there has been no immediate reaction from Jordan, a kingdom bordering Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
U.S. troops long have used Jordan, a close American ally. as a basing point. Some 3,000 American troops typically are stationed in Jordan.
“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,” Biden said in his statement, adding, “The US will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism.”
The US troops in Iraq and Syria have faced drone and missile attacks on their bases since Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip began. The attack on Jordan marks the first targeting of American troops in Jordan during the war.
