U.S. Central Command reported on Sunday that a drone assault on an outpost in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border killed three American service personnel and injured at least twenty-five others.
The number of casualties may exceed twenty-five Americans, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The majority of casualties were Army personnel serving out of the Tower 22 facility in northern Jordan, close to the Syrian border. This location has supported the counter-ISIS operation over the past year.
The official stated that some of the more than twenty-five wounded had been taken off the base for medical evacuation, most likely to Landstuhl in Germany. Their whereabouts in the residential compound at the base during the incident are unclear.
Discussions for a response are underway at the White House, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is an active participant.
The attack marks significant escalation as U.S. troops are killed by enemy fire in the Middle East for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. President Biden was briefed about the attack on Sunday morning by Austin, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, according to the White House.
The assault occurred in northeast Jordan, close to the Syrian border, and U.S. forces have long utilized Jordan as a base of operations.
In response to the incident, Biden strongly condemned “radical Iran-backed militant groups.”
Some Republicans went so far as to accuse President Biden of trying to appease Iran after the incident, while others criticized his apparent lack of action thus far.
The usual number of American troops stationed in Jordan is around three thousand.
Drones and missiles have targeted U.S. outposts in Iraq and Syria since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but Sunday’s strike was the first to result in American casualties.
Hezbollah, a terrorist group based in Lebanon, and other Iranian allies have used Syria as a springboard into neighboring conflicts for quite some time. Additionally, many Shiite militias in Iraq are backed by Iran.
Due to its supervision of holy sites, Jordan, a key force in Jerusalem, is a steadfast Western ally.
