THE NEW YORK TIMES Air defenses failed to prevent an attack on a U.S. military post USA at Jordan in which three American soldiers were killed this Sunday the 28th. According to American officials, this happened because the enemy drone was approaching its target at the same time that an American drone was returning to base.
The American surveillance drone's return to the remote gas station caused some confusion over whether the approaching drone was from the U.S. military or not, and air defenses were not immediately activated, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary discussions to make findings about a material factor that contributed to the incident. Two other drones that attacked other nearby locations in southeastern Syria were shot down.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the drone mixup, which is now the focus of a U.S. Central Command investigation into the deadly attack that prompted calls for a U.S. military retaliation. President Bidenraised questions about American military defense in the Middle East and raised new questions about the administration's efforts to prevent attacks by Iranianbacked militias on merchant ships, warships and military bases in the region.
Satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows a U.S. military base in northeastern Jordan on October 12, 2023. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AP
Three U.S. Army reserve soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack. This is the first known death of a U.S. military serviceman caused by enemy fire in the unrest that has spread over Israel's war against the terrorist group Hamas. This Monday the 29th Pentagon raised the number of injured to at least 40 and warned that the list was likely to grow as other soldiers showed symptoms of head trauma caused by the blast.
Biden administration officials blamed a drone launched by a U.S.backed militia will from that Iraq, and suspicion in the Pentagon immediately turned to Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranlinked group in Iraq. “The drone has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters, noting that intelligence analysts were still evaluating the attack.
On Monday, the Pentagon identified the dead soldiers as William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The three Soldiers were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, an Army Reserve unit based at Fort Moore, Georgia.
The drone strike on the outpost in northeastern Jordan, near the border with Syria and Iraq, called Tower 22, escalated hostilities in the region that have increased since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Biden announced retaliatory measures and met with his top national security advisers for the second straight day on Monday to discuss possible targets in Syria, Iraq and Iran. Senior US officials said a direct attack on Iran was less likely, although US military personnel have withdrawn plans to attack Iranian military advisers and trainers in Iraq and Syria if US troops are killed by Iranbacked militias in the Middle East .
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Monday condemned the attacks and vowed retaliation on his first day at the Pentagon since being hospitalized for complications from prostate cancer.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Washington. Photo: Pete Marovich/NYT
“Let me begin with my outrage and sadness over the deaths of three brave American soldiers in Jordan and the other soldiers injured,” Austin said before meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “The President and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces and will take all necessary steps to defend the United States and our troops.”
The drone strike in Jordan demonstrated that Iranianbacked militias whether in Iran or Syria or the Houthis in Yemen remain capable of inflicting serious consequences on American troops, despite U.S. military efforts to weaken them and to prevent them from falling into a major conflict, possibly with Iran itself.
American troops in Iraq and Syria and now Jordan have been attacked at least 165 times since October 66 times in Iraq, 98 times in Syria and Sunday's attack in Jordan, the Pentagon said Monday. More than 80 soldiers suffered injuries, including head injuries, before the latest attack.
“We know that Iran supports these groups,” John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Monday. “We know they fund them, we know they train them. We know that these attacks certainly do not discourage them.”
But Kirby added: “The extent to which they command and direct will be something intelligence analysts will keep an eye on.”
Kirby and Singh were repeatedly pressed in meetings with reporters Monday about when and how the United States would respond, and declined to comment on specific options. They stressed that the government was trying to prevent a major war in the region, although they blamed the attack for escalating tensions.
“We are not seeking war with Iran,” Kirby said. “But the attacks must stop.”
Iran on Monday denied any connection to the attack and accused Washington of provoking tensions in the region.
Houthi fighters demonstrate in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against U.S.led airstrikes in Yemen. Photo: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP
About 350 Army and Air Force soldiers are stationed at the Tower 22 border outpost. It serves as a logistics and supply center for the nearby Al Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, where American troops work with local Syrian partners to combat the remnants of the Islamic state.
The disposable drone struck a location near the outpost's living quarters, causing injuries ranging from minor cuts to brain injuries, a U.S. military official said. Eight American service members were flown to Iraq for medical treatment, and three of them are expected to be flown to Germany for more advanced treatment, Singh said.
The soldiers and airmen lived in container housing units, or CHUs, Singh said, essentially aluminum boxes slightly larger than a commercial shipping container. They have linoleum floors and cots or beds inside and can be easily transported in trucks.
“What was special about this attack was where it took place,” Singh said. “It was very early in the morning, so people were still in their beds when the drone was hit.”