Report: Drone That Hit US Base in Jordan Followed an American Drone

US officials say that may be why the drone wasn't shot down

by Dave DeCamp January 29, 2024 at 9:19 pm ET 

CategoriesNewsTagsJordan

A one-way attack drone that killed three US troops in northeast Jordan may have followed an American drone into the US base, US officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

The officials said that because of the timing, US forces may have thought the enemy drone was an American one and didn’t try to shoot it down. The US does not have large air defense systems at the small outpost in Jordan on the Syrian border, known as Tower 22, but it does have counter-drone systems.

US officials said the drone hit a trailer where troops sleep, killing three and wounding more than 40. The three slain soldiers were members of the US Army Reserves and were identified by the Pentagon as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre came under heavy criticism for saying the three American soldiers died fighting on behalf of the “administration” rather than the US.

Little is known about the secretive US base at Tower 22, which US officials say houses 350 troops. It supports the US occupation of eastern Syria as it is about 12 miles across the border from Al Tanf garrison, one of the main US bases in Syria.

Google Earth map showing the location of Tower 22

Jordan initially denied the attack targeted its territory and said it happened at Al Tanf. But Jordan later put out a statement acknowledging the incident occurred on an outpost close to the Syrian border, according to The Jordan Times.

According to The Telegraph, the Jordanian government does not officially acknowledge Tower 22’s existence. Jordan also likely doesn’t want to appear too close to the US amid the US-backed Israeli slaughter in Gaza. But Amman is a long-time partner of the US and received about $1.6 billion in aid from the US in 2023.

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/29/report-drone-that-hit-us-base-in-jordan-followed-an-american-drone/