Three American soldiers killed and at least 25 injured in a drone attack on a US military base in Jordan claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the Levant Joe Biden to warn with retaliation.
It is the first time US soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since October 7, when the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began, a new phase and raising fears of an escalation of already high tensions in the region amid undeclared war between Israel and Iran.
“Today, America mourns. “Last night, three American soldiers were killed and several wounded in a drone attack against our forces stationed in northeastern Jordan.” Joe Biden said, according to a statement.
“Have no doubt: all those responsible will be held accountable, whenever and however we want” he added, in a threatening tone.
The US Central Command for the Middle East (Centcom) announced that 25 soldiers were injured at this base, near the border with Syria.
Joe Biden stated that currently “we know this was done by a group of radical pro-Iranian militants operating in Syria and Iraq”.
The soldiers who were killed, the Democratic president said, “put their own safety at risk for the safety of their fellow Americans and our allies and partners with whom we fight terrorism.”
The US president discussed the situation today with his vice president Kamala Harris and the heads of diplomacy, the Pentagon and the CIA, the White House announced.
Jordan or Syria?
The representative of the Jordanian government, Muhannad Mubaidin stated that the attack did not take place in Jordan but was “targeted at the al-Tanf base in Syria”a strategically important anti-jihadist coalition base located in a desert area near the border of Jordan and Iraq.
On her Telegram account, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a network of fighters drawn from pro-Iranian armed groups, claimed responsibility for “attacks carried out at dawn on Sunday with drones” against three bases on Syrian soil, including those of Al-Tanf and Rukban, which are very close.
In a first reaction, Sami Abu Zahri, a spokesman for Hamas, said that Mr death of the three soldiers “is a message to the American government“: “Continued US-Zionist aggression in Gaza risks regional conflagration” with the wrath of “all” the Muslim world.
Maximum regional volatility
These deaths of members of the US military occur in an explosive environment: the war in Gaza is compounded by multiple strikes and attacks between Iran and its allies in the region (Hamas, Hezbollah…) on the one hand, and Israel, the United States and their partners on the other.
From mid-October, more than 150 drone or rocket strikes have targeted US troops as well as coalition soldiers, in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has generally claimed responsibility for these strikes, in which no American soldiers have been killed to date.
Washington has responded with targeted strikes in Iraq, but those attacks currently remain limited as Iran and the United States have reiterated that they do not want a regional flare-up.
Further south, since early January, Washington has repeatedly bombed Houthi positions in Yemen, pro-Iranian rebels who target international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The US this week asked China to mediate with Tehran to stop Houthi attackswhich significantly disrupt world trade.
At the same time, Israel, an ally of the United States, intensified its strikes against the Syrian regime and pro-Iranian groups in the neighboring country. Israel also faces regular exchanges of fire on its northern border with Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is close to Iran.
Source: News Beast
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