(NewsSpace.com) – On Sunday, January 28, a drone attack hit Tower 22 in Jordan, where American troops were stationed to help combat the Islamic State. Sadly, three US service members died. In the days following, the US investigated the situation and finally determined it was the work of the militant group Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is made up of several terrorist groups, “including Kataib Hezbollah,” according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
Kirby also noted that the US is focusing on a “response” and has plans to retaliate. However, it is taking care to avoid “a wider war in the Middle East,” per UPI. The incident marked the first time American soldiers were killed since the attacks began after Hamas launched an offensive against Israel back in October.
Those who died were identified as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers (46), Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett (23), and Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders (24). Additionally, more than 40 others were injured in the attack. There are approximately 350 troops stationed there.
Tower 22 is now getting a more robust air defense system. The auto-response features of the current one were disabled because an American drone was returning from a mission. That allowed the enemy drone to sneak in undetected.
While Iran has denied any involvement, President Joe Biden said he “hold[s] them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.” Kirby has indicated that the US response will be multi-tiered, carried out “over a period of time” rather than one targeted strike.
Biden said one of the focuses is to make sure the US takes out the capabilities the militant groups call on to perpetrate their attacks. It could be similar to how the US and UK targeted the Houthi rebels following multiple incidents on the Red Sea.
US troops have come under at least 166 attacks since October 7, and there’s no sign that they are slowing down.
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