On Sunday, three United States military troops were killed, and several were injured in a drone strike in Northeastern Jordan near the U.S.-Syrian border by Iran-backed terrorist groups, the Pentagon said.
According to a U.S. official, the number of troops injured in the recent attack rose to at least 34. Another U.S. official said a large military drone attacked the base, which several other American officials identified as an installation in Jordan known as Tower 22 near the Syrian border. The installation has been used by American troops involved in the advise-and-assist mission for the Jordanian military.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group that includes Kataib Hezbollah, Nujabaa, and other Iran-backed terrorist organizations, claimed responsibility for the recent attack.
President Joe Biden responded to the latest attacks stating that the U.S. would "hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing."
Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the U.S. military would "take all necessary actions to defend the U.S., our troops, and our interests."
The President described the recent event as a "despicable and wholly unjust attack" and said the service members were "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.”
When asked for new information on the latest attack, a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department referred The Foreign Desk to the Department of Defense's Central Command/CENTCOM press release.
Jordanian state television quoted Muhannad Mubaidin, a Jordanian government spokesperson who insisted that the recent attack occurred across the border in Syria.
Omar Abu Layla, a European-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, told the Associated Press (AP) that the Iran-backed terrorist fighters in East Syria began evacuating their posts, fearing American airstrikes. He added that such areas are the strongholds of Mayadeen and Boukamal.
Following the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas against Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran has called upon all of its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and elsewhere to attack American and Israeli forces in the region.
Several weeks after Israel retaliated against Hamas, Iran-backed terrorist groups began attacking American military installations more than 60 times and in Syria more than 90 times, with a mix of drones, rockets, mortars, and ballistic missiles.
In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist groups have engaged in attacks against U.S. Naval and commercial ships, despite U.S. and British airstrikes against Houthi-military equipment. In Washington D.C., Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have stated that the Biden administration's current policies in the Middle East have failed to deter Iran and anti-American Islamist terrorists in the region.
"We need a major reset of our Middle East policy to protect our national security interests," said Republican representative Michael McCaul of Texas, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham urged the administration "to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces but as deterrence against future aggression. The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force."
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