A weekend drone strike that killed three US service members in Jordan occurred when American air defenses mistook enemy aircraft for friendly planes coming in at the same time, a report said Monday.
Drones launched by Iran-backed militants approached a small US-allied outpost near Jordan’s border with Syria on Saturday as American drones returned to the base — causing confusion among personnel there and a significant delay in attempts to shoot down enemy devices. , an unidentified military official told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The terrorist drone attacked a military compound, killing three American soldiers and injuring at least 34 others.
“I think what’s different about this attack is where it landed — it hit where we live,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters at a Monday briefing. “I believe it was early in the morning, so people were actually in their beds when the drone hit.
“[US] The Central Command is looking at what can be done when it comes to our air defense and looking into this incident to determine how best we can move or how quickly we can further strengthen our air defense system,” Singh said.
The delegation insisted the site was no less protected than other regional bases that had recently been attacked without fatalities.
The drone strike that killed three US service members in Jordan occurred when American air defenses mistook enemy aircraft for friendly ones. AP
There have now been 165 attacks on US troops — 66 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and Saturday in Jordan — since Oct. 17, Singh said. In addition to the three Americans killed in Jordan, there were a total of about 80 American service members who received non-serious injuries in the attack, he said.
“To my knowledge, there is nothing different or new about this attack [from what] we have looked at other facilities that house our service members,” said Singh. “Unfortunately, this attack was successful, but we cannot rule it out [earlier] other attacks, whether in Iraq or Syria, are not intended to kill our service members.”
President Biden said the attack was launched by an “Iranian-backed radical militant group operating in Syria and Iran” – and a Telegram channel used by pro-Iranian terrorist groups later claimed the attack was in retaliation for a US strike south of Baghdad. a few days before that where two terrorists were killed, according to the Journal.
Saturday’s attackers were likely backed by Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iran’s main militia allies based in Iraq, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Monday.
He said Biden would respond “in a time and manner of his own choosing” and “in a very consequential way.
The terrorist drone attacked a military compound, killing three American soldiers and injuring at least 34 others. Planet Labs/AFP via Getty Images
“We do not want to see this attack continue. And we want to make it clear that they are not acceptable,” Kirby said.
“We also want to make it clear that we will do what we have to do to protect our troops, our facilities, our national security interests in the region.
“But we don’t want to go to war with Iran,” he said. “We are not looking for a wider conflict in the Middle East.”
The president himself vowed Sunday to respond to the attack, which marked the first time an American soldier has been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since Hamas launched an Oct. 7 attack on Israel, prompting other militant groups to join the fray.
Some Republicans have urged Biden to respond swiftly to Iran over the deadly attack.
“Beat Iran now. Hit them hard,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), known for his hawkish views, wrote on X on Sunday.
“Iran is not giving up,” he said. “The only thing the Iranian regime understands is violence. Until they pay the price with their infrastructure and personnel, attacks on US forces will continue.”
Iranian officials have denied responsibility for the attack.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday called claims that the country was involved an “unfounded accusation” designed to escalate the Israel-Hamas war.
“The responsibility for the consequences of provoking allegations against Iran rests with those who put forward those baseless allegations,” he said.
No specific group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the base, which is located near the Al Tanf Garrison in southeastern Syria, where US troops are working with allies to fight Islamic State militants.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
