Biden Pledges Retaliation After Drone Strike Kills 3 US Troops

American troops were wounded in a drone attack in northeastern Jordan. President Joe Biden has warned that those responsible for the attack will be held accountable.

According to foreign media such as Reuters on the 28th (local time), President Biden said in a statement, “We are verifying the facts, but we know that this attack was carried out by extremist armed forces active in Syria and Iraq, sponsored by Iran.”

The attack occurred the previous night at a U.S. forward base known as Jordan Tower 22 near the Syrian border, killing three U.S. soldiers and injuring dozens.

Conventionally, about 3,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Jordan, a U.S. ally.

It is unknown why the air defense system failed to defend against the drone, but the number of injured was reported to be more than 30, which is far higher than the 25 initially announced by U.S. Central Command.

U.S. Central Command had previously announced that three people were killed and 25 were injured in the drone attack. However, Reuters reported that at least 34 people are being observed for potential traumatic brain injuries.

The U.S. has left troops in Iraq and Syria to continue counter-terrorism activities after declaring the official end of the ‘War on Terror’ in 2021, and this is the first time that there have been fatalities not only injuries.

Reuters quoted the Jordanian government as saying that the deceased U.S. soldiers were in Syria, not Jordan.

President Biden stated, “We will continue our commitment to fight terror and we will punish those who are responsible for the attack at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”

By. Sung Pil Shim