President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the US “shall respond” after three American troops were killed and dozens more were injured in an overnight drone strike in north-east Jordan near the Syrian border.
Mr Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the first US fatalities after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Biden, who was travelling in South Carolina, asked for a moment of silence during an appearance at a Baptist church’s banquet hall.
“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases,” he said. After the moment of silence, Mr Biden added, “and we shall respond”.
With an increasing the risk of military escalation in the region, US officials were working to conclusively identify the precise group responsible for the attack, but they have assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups was behind it.
Mr Biden said in a written statement that the United States “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing”.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin said “we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests”.
Iran-backed fighters in east Syria began evacuating their posts, fearing US airstrikes, according to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet.
He told The Associated Press that the areas are the strongholds of Mayadeen and Boukamal.
Last night, three U.S. service members were killed, and many wounded, during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border.
Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen in grieving the loss of these warriors in this…— President Biden (@POTUS) January 28, 2024
According to a US official, the number of troops wounded in the attack by a one-way attack drone may grow.
The official said a large drone struck the base, which two other American officials identified as an installation in Jordan known as Tower 22.
It is along the Syrian border and is used largely by troops involved in the advise-and-assist mission for Jordanian forces.
The small installation, which Jordan does not publicly disclose, includes US engineering, aviation, logistics and security troops.
The US military base at al-Tanf in Syria is just 12 miles north of Tower 22.
The Jordanian installation provides a critical logistical hub for US forces in Syria, including those at al-Tanf, which is near the intersection of the Iraq, Syria and Jordan borders.
I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our U.S. service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against U.S. and Coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) January 28, 2024
Jordanian state television quoted Muhannad Mubaidin, a government spokesman, as saying the attack happened across the border in Syria.
US troops have long used Jordan, a kingdom bordering Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as a basing point.
US Central Command put the toll at three killed and 34 injured.
Some 3,000 American troops typically are stationed in Jordan.
Since the war in Gaza began on October 7, Iranian-backed militias have struck American military installations in Iraq more than 60 times and in Syria more than 90 times, with a mix of drones, rockets, mortars and ballistic missiles.
The attack on Sunday was the first targeting American troops in Jordan during the Israel-Hamas war and the first to result in the loss of American lives.
Scores of US personnel have been wounded, including some with traumatic brain injuries, during the attacks.
The militias have said that their strikes are in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza and have also said they aim to push US forces out of the region.
The US in recent months has hit targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to respond to attacks on American forces in the region and to deter Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from continuing to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Mr Biden was briefed on Sunday by defence secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
He was expected to meet his national security team again later on Sunday.
The president called it a “despicable and wholly unjust attack” and said the service members were “risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism. It is a fight we will not cease”.
Syria is still in the midst of a civil war and long has been a launch pad for Iranian-backed forces there, including the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Iraq has multiple Iranian-backed Shiite militias operating there as well.
Jordan, a staunch western ally and a crucial power in Jerusalem for its oversight of holy sites there, is suspected of launching airstrikes in Syria to disrupt drug smugglers, including one that killed nine people earlier this month.
An umbrella group for Iran-backed factions known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq earlier claimed it launched explosive drone attacks targeting three areas in Syria, as well as one inside “occupied Palestine”.
The group has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks against bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Three officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq said the drone attack against the base in Jordan was launched by one of the Iraqi groups.
No faction has yet officially claimed responsibility.
