The drone attack is said to be the first attack that takes American lives in the Middle East since the war between Hamas and Israel began in October.
CNN first reported the attack that reportedly killed three American soldiers.
US President Joe Biden then confirmed that three people had been killed.
Biden: Iran-backed groups are behind it
– Radical Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq are behind it, says Biden Sunday afternoon.
He establishes this in a statement, but at the same time emphasizes that they are still gathering facts about what happened.
President Joe Biden states that he mourns with all those affected.
Foto: KENT NISHIMURA / AFP
Anonymous sources in the US defense told CNN that the drone attack must have come against the base from Syria.
On Sunday evening, Reuters reports that an Iranian-backed group calling itself The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has undertaken attacks against three different military bases, including a base on the border between Jordan and Syria.
– Today America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three of our soldiers were killed, and many injured, in an attack by an unmanned drone, says Biden.
The president states that he and his wife sympathize with those who are dead and injured, and all their relatives. He states that these were soldiers who contributed to the fight against terror.
President Joe Biden promises on Sunday that the US will respond with “retaliation”.
– Let there be no doubt. We will make sure that everyone behind this is held accountable. We will do that at a place and time that suits us, says Biden.
The White House states that the president was informed of the incident on Sunday morning US time by his defense secretary.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III blames militias with ties to Iran.
– The president and I do not tolerate such attacks against American forces. We will take all necessary steps to protect the United States and our forces, says Austin in one statement.
Iran denies any link to the attack
Iran denies having anything to do with the attack which is said to have taken place with an unmanned drone on the night of Sunday.
– Iran had neither connection to nor anything to do with the attack on the American outpost, writes Iran’s UN delegation in a statement published by the state-run Iranian news agency Irna.
– There is a conflict between US forces and resistance groups in the region, and they are exchanging attacks, the statement goes on to say.
Three killed – at least 25 injured
The US Middle East Command (CENTCOM) confirms that three people were killed and 25 injured.
– On January 28, three of our servicemen were killed and 25 others injured in an attack with a drone against a base in the north-east of Jordan, writes Centcom.
They state that the base is close to the border with Syria.
Later on Sunday evening, it is reported that the number of injured may rise. Military spokesmen state that at least 34 soldiers are being examined for possible head injuries.
The base that has been attacked is called Tower 22, and is referred to as a military outpost. The military embarrassment is used by the Americans to train local forces to fight terrorism in the region.
It is unclear why the air defense was unable to intercept the drone.
The Reuters news agency reports that the attack is said to have hit parts of the military outpost that was used for accommodation and accommodation, and that this may be part of the reason for the high number of dead and injured. Military sources tell the news agency that several soldiers have been flown out of the area for further medical treatment.
Increased tension in the region
The killings at the Tower 22 camp in Jordan, near the border with Syria, are a significant escalation of an already precarious situation in the Middle East.
In the time since hostilities began in the Middle East, a number of groups have carried out attacks both against civilian merchant ships and against coalition forces from the United States and Great Britain. Among other things from the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.
Tormod Heier, professor of military strategy, tells NRK that the attack in Jordan joins a series of incidents where these militias want to provoke a counter-reaction from the US.
Tormod Heier, professor of military strategy, at the Norwegian Defense Academy.
Photo: Frode Fjerdingstad / No
– They want the tension in the region to increase further and that the Americans may then be drawn into a new major conflict. Then to change the development many of the countries in the Middle East have had, Heier believes.
– Ever since the Trump administration, the Iranian side has tried to gather the Arab countries into a more united opposition to Israel and the warfare in Gaza. This process they will break up.
Heier says that although this is one of several attacks on the United States, this is special.
– It is a further step up this escalation ladder for the entire region, says Heier.
– It is much tougher for the Americans to accept that American lives are being lost. Then there will be a completely different domestic political pressure in Washington. The Americans have no choice here but to respond.
CNN writes that there have been over 158 different attacks against US and other coalition forces, but until now none of them had led to the loss of life on the US side.
The US has a number of times recently denied that it wants an escalation and increase in tensions that could lead to a regional war.
The US Defense Department was asked at a press conference last week whether it believed Iran-backed groups were increasing their attacks on US forces in the area. The answer was:
– No, not necessarily, said press spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
On Sunday, an interview with the US’s top military leader – Chief of Defense and General Charles Brown – was also broadcast.
The interview with ABC News had been recorded before the attack in Jordan was known, and the defense chief stressed that the US did not want escalation.
– The goal is to deter them. We will not go down the path of increased escalation leading to a wider conflict in the region, General Brown said.
The US has recently carried out a number of attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Jordan: – The attack was not in Jordan
An official spokesperson for the authorities in Jordan claims that the attack did not take place on Jordanian soil, reports Reuters.
Spokesman Muhannad al Mubaidin is said to have told broadcaster Mamlaka that the attack took place against an American base inside Syria – not in Jordan.
According to the spokesman, it is the al Tanf base just over the border with Syria that has been attacked, not Tower 22 inside Jordan.
This despite the fact that US President Joe Biden has confirmed that three US soldiers have been killed “in north-eastern parts of Jordan, close to the border with Syria”.
The distance between the two places in Jordan and Syria is around 20 kilometers.
Later on Sunday evening, the Jordanian authorities told the Reuters news agency that the attack must have taken place at the border between Jordan and Syria. Spokespersons for the country’s authorities condemn what they call a terrorist attack along the border.
CNN and a number of other media report that the attack took place against the military outpost called Tower 22 in Jordan, right on the border with Syria.