Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service members were injured in an overnight drone strike on a small U.S. base in Jordan, U.S. officials told CNN, marking the first time U.S. troops were killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the start of the Gaza war.
The murder of three Americans in Tower 22 in Jordan, near the Syrian border, is a significant escalation of an already precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iranian-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria.
US Central Command confirmed in a statement on Sunday that three military personnel were killed and 25 injured in a unilateral drone strike that “affected a base in northeast Jordan.”
As of Friday (260), there have been more than 158 attacks against US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, although authorities have described the constant launch of drones, rockets and missiles as unsuccessful, as they often do not caused serious injuries or damage to infrastructure.
It is unclear why air defenses were unable to intercept the drone, which appears to be the first known attack on Tower 22 since attacks on US and coalition forces began on October 17. U.S. forces at the base are there as part of an advise and assist mission with Jordan.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said they do not want rising tensions across the Middle East to escalate into a regional war. Asked last week whether the Pentagon assessed that Iranian proxies were intensifying their attacks on US forces, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said: “Not necessarily, no.”
In a previously recorded interview with ABC News that aired Sunday morning, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown said part of the U.S. job is “to make sure that as things have played out in the Middle East , the conflict is not expanded.”
“The objective is to deter them and we do not want to go down a path of further escalation that leads to a much wider conflict in the region,” he said.
There have been dozens of injuries since the attacks began — a senior military official told reporters last week there were about 70 — but the Pentagon classified most of them as minor, with the exception of one U.S. soldier who was seriously injured in an attack. in Iraq on Christmas Day.
Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was sent back to the US for further treatment after being seriously injured in a drone strike at Erbil Air Base.
The US has taken several retaliatory actions against Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, including last week when the US struck three facilities in Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah and other Iranian-affiliated groups.
The deaths of three Americans also come at a time when the US and Iraq are expected to begin negotiations soon over the future of the US military presence in the country.
Source: CNN Brasil
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