US servicemen killed in Jordan attack: aftermath Live updates

 

President Joe Biden believes that “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” are responsible

American army boots on the ground ©  Getty Images

Three US Army soldiers were killed and over 30 service personnel were injured in an overnight drone attack on a small US outpost in Jordan, near its Syrian border, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday. This is the first instance of American troops being killed by enemy fire in the region since the onset of the Gaza war. The specific militia group responsible is still unidentified, with the so-called ‘Iraqi resistance group’ reportedly claiming responsibility. President Joe Biden has pledged to hold those accountable for the attack, attributing it to “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”

• 28 January 2024

  21:21 GMT

  The government of Jordan condemned what it described as the “terrorist attack” on its border with Syria, adding that it was working with the US to secure the area. Its first official statement to media since the incident appeared to walk back the earlier claim from a government spokesperson that the attack had struck a US base in Syria – adjacent, but not over, that nation’s border with Jordan.

• 21:01 GMT

  Republican Senators Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, and John Cornyn called for the US to bomb Iran in response to the deaths, which they framed as the inevitable outcome of the presidential administration of Joe Biden being too soft on the Islamic Republic.

  “I’ve long since lost confidence in the Biden national security team to deter Iran,” Graham told media. “If they do not change their policies now, more American service members in the region will pay the price. Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”

  “The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East,” Cotton agreed, arguing, “Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief.”

  “Target Tehran,” Cornyn wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

• 20:43 GMT

  In response to the killing of three American service members in the drone attack on the US military installation in Jordan, former president Donald Trump expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and called it a horrible day for America. On Truth Social, he attributed the attack to what he perceives as Joe Biden’s "weakness and surrender," citing the impact of the current president’s policies on Iran. Trump asserted that such attacks would not have occurred under his presidency, emphasizing the need for an immediate return to a peace-through-strength approach. He also linked the incident to other geopolitical events and criticized Biden’s role as Commander in Chief.

• 20:41 GMT

  “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,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Sunday.

  “The three American service members we lost were patriots in the highest sense,” he said. “And their ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten by our nation.”

  The US president added: “We will carry their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt – we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”

• 20:37 GMT

  Three US Army soldiers have been killed and many others wounded by an overnight drone attack in Jordan, President Joe Biden has announced. The strike on a US army outpost represents a significant escalation of simmering tensions in the Middle East.

  A press release issued by US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday listed the number of American personnel injured in the attack at 25. 

  “Last night, three US service members were killed – and many wounded – during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border,” Biden said in a statement issued by the White House on Sunday. “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.”

• https://www.rt.com/news/591419-us-troops-killed-jordan-lu/