The U.S. military announced Sunday that three American soldiers were killed and at least 34 injured in a drone attack targeting Tower 22, a remote logistics outpost near the Jordan-Syria border.
The attack sparked a sharp response from Washington, with President Joe Biden pledging to hold the attackers accountable.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group for Iran-backed armed groups in the region, claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were a response to U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 26 000 people.
Here’s what we know about the drone strike and the attack site:
What is Tower 22 and where is it located?
Tower 22, which houses a small US logistics outpost, is located in northeastern Jordan, near the borders with Iraq and Syria.
Public information about the outpost is limited. However, according to media reports, Tower 22 serves as a supply hub for the nearby US garrison of al-Tanf, located across the Syrian border.
At least 350 U.S. Army and Air Force troops are also stationed there. It is unclear what type of weapons are kept at the outpost and what nature of air defenses are used.
Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars helping Amman set up an elaborate surveillance system, known as the Border Security Program, to stem the infiltration of armed fighters from Syria and Iraq.
Al-Tanf, located on the Baghdad-Damascus highway, played a key role in the fight against the IS armed group and assumed a role as part of the US strategy to contain the Iranian military buildup in eastern Syria. Syria.
Currently, approximately 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq and 900 are deployed in northeastern Syria.
Jordan has a close security pact with the United States and is one of the few regional allies to hold extensive exercises with American troops. The Jordanian army is one of the main beneficiaries of Washington’s foreign military financing.
What do we know about the drone strike in Jordan?
The deaths of three US service members in a nighttime drone strike are the first since Israel launched its brutal military campaign in Gaza on October 7, which has killed more than 26,000 people and triggered responses from regional armed groups.
The unmanned airstrike targeted the living quarters of Tower 22, injuring 34 soldiers, some of whom suffered minor cuts or head trauma, according to media reports. The U.S. military said at least eight of the injured soldiers were transported out of Jordan for treatment.
Experts wonder why the outpost’s air defenses failed to detect the drone.
The identities of the soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been released.
How did the Biden administration respond?
President Biden said he would hold those responsible accountable.
“While we are still gathering the facts about this attack, we know that it was carried out by radical Iranian-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement.
Iran has denied being behind the attack. “Iran has no connection and has nothing to do with the attack on the US base,” Tehran’s mission to the United Nations said in a statement published Monday by the official IRNA news agency.
“There is conflict between US forces and resistance groups in the region, who are fighting back in retaliation. »
How did others react to the attack?
Jordan condemned the “terrorist attack” and said Sunday it was cooperating with its ally Washington to secure its border and “fight terrorism.”
Former US President Donald Trump also condemned the attack, blaming the Biden administration: “This brazen attack on the United States is another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and capitulation. »
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Senator Roger Wicke, have all attributed the attack to Iran.
Democratic leaders, including Chuck Schumer, Jacky Rosen and Hakeem Jeffries, have also spoken out in favor of holding officials accountable.
Heartbroken and outraged by the deaths of three American service members and the injuries of many others during the horrific terrorist attack in the Middle East.
I pray hard for everyone affected.
Every bad actor responsible must be held accountable.
– Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 28, 2024
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: “We are united in our values and fighting against a common enemy. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. Rest in peace. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement affirming the “strong condemnation of any terrorist act that threatens the security and stability of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, expressing its full solidarity with Jordan in this delicate situation.”
Have there been other attacks on US interests in the region?
The latest attack comes amid growing risk of the war in Gaza spilling over as tensions rise and spread across the region.
The Institute for the Study of War, a nonprofit think tank based in the United States, reported that Iran-backed militias have launched more than 170 attacks targeting U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria since the Israel’s war against Gaza, following Hamas’ deadly attack on Gaza. October 7.
On January 21, US Central Command said Iranian-backed groups had attacked the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria.
The group said on Sunday it would continue its attacks in response to the “massacres committed by the Zionist entity (Israel) against our people in Gaza” against the “strongholds of the enemies”. Israel was dragged before the International Court of Justice by South Africa over accusations of genocide committed in Gaza.
The group carried out a drone strike on Israel on Monday.
Iran-backed militants attack Al-Assad airbase in Iraq
Around 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) on January 20, several ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in western Iraq, targeting al-Assad air base. Most of the missiles were intercepted by… pic.twitter.com/rYaNrRdRtu
– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 20, 2024
The Lebanese group Hezbollah has been engaged in deadly cross-border firefights with Israel, while Yemen’s Houthis have carried out multiple attacks against U.S. and Israeli interests. On Monday, the Houthis said they launched a rocket at the US warship Lewis B Puller as it passed through the Gulf of Aden a day earlier. These attacks have disrupted one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
These groups – part of the so-called “axis of resistance” – have targeted Washington for its military support of Israel in its war on Gaza.
Reporting from Tehran, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Resul Serdar said Iran does not want regional escalation.
“Iranian officials know that a direct military confrontation with Israel also means a war with the United States that could prove deadly for Iran,” he said.
While Washington maintains its official position that it is not at war in the region, it has retaliated against Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria and carried out strikes against Houthi military capabilities in Yemen.
Colin Clarke, senior researcher at the Soufan Group, told Tel Aviv Tribune the attacks show there was a “regional war”.
“There’s no denying it. American troops have been killed and the United States will respond with force, whether in Iran itself or against Iranian proxies in the various countries where it operates,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.