3 US troops killed, 25 wounded in Iran-backed drone attack in Jordan

WASHINGTON – Three US military personnel were killed and at least 25 wounded when a one-way attack drone struck part of a base in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border on Sunday.

The lethal incident marks the first time US troops have been killed in near-daily rocket and drone barrages on bases they use in Iraq and Syria, sharply increases the likelihood of drawing the US into a lethal cycle of retaliation with Iran-backed militias in the region.

The attacks, of which there have been more than 160, resumed since Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. Until now most were thwarted by US ground-based air defenses, officials have said. 

It was not immediately clear how the drone got through, though it is the first reported attack on a US base in Jordan. Troops at the nearby al-Tanf garrison on the Syrian side of the border have thwarted multiple attempted drone attacks in the past.

US President Joe Biden vowed retaliation for the strike 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,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

“And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” Biden said.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.