Jan. 28 (UPI) — Three U.S. service members have been killed and 25 others injured by a drone strike in the Kingdom of Jordan, the White House said.
The three dead soldiers are the first American military casualties tied to the regional escalation of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in the wake of the Palestinian militia’s surprise attack on the U.S.-backed Israel that killed 1,200 people on October 7.
Hamas has blamed the attack on the hundreds of Palestinians killed by the Israeli Defense Forces and illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, as well as the multiple police raids of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the mass detainment of Palestinians.
“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,” President Joe Biden said in a statement released Sunday by the White House.
“These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery,” Biden continued. “Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country- 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.”
A spokesperson told Jordan TV, the kingdom’s public broadcaster, that the attack targeted the al-Tanf base in Syria.
“The base is outside our border,” the Jordanian spokesperson said.
The Pentagon said last Sunday that two Navy SEALs were presumed dead after they disappeared 10 days earlier during an operation in the Red Sea to intercept weapons from Iran that were thought to be headed to Houthi fighters.
The Houthis are a militant group that has been fighting a civil war since 2014 against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Beyond involvement in Yemen’s civil war, the Houthis are anti-imperialist and have been targeting shipping vessels amid Israel’s war.
The deaths Sunday were the first known U.S. fatalities in America’s campaign against the Houthis. U.S. troops stationed in the region have weathered at least 150 attacks by Iranian-backed militants since the war began.
The United States has 2,000 troops stationed at an air base in Azraq, Jordan, and Special Operations forces for the U.S. base at Al Tanf base that was at the center of the lethal attack.
The American troops have been stationed there to thwart the Islamic State. Biden said in his statement that his administration’s focus will remain on bringing justice and peace to the region, reflecting on the soldiers who were killed in the drone strike.
“We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism,” Biden warned. “And have no doubt, we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”