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The US military says three people were killed and at least 25 injured in an attack on US troops in northeastern Jordan.
President Joe Biden says three U.S. service members were killed and “many” others injured in an unmanned drone attack on U.S. troops stationed in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, and blamed the attack on an Iranian-backed group. said.
The US military said in a statement that at least 25 people were injured.
“While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by an Iranian-backed extremist group operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement Sunday.
Biden said the U.S. will “hold everyone responsible accountable, once and for all.” [of] It's our choice. ”
Jordanian state television quoted Jordanian government spokesman Muhanad Mubaiddin as saying the attack occurred outside the kingdom, across the Syrian border.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
The death was the first death of a U.S. military member in the Middle East since Israel's war in Gaza began on October 7.
The attack came amid heightened tensions in the region as Israel continues its war in Gaza in response to attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel that killed at least 1,139 people, according to Israeli officials.
More than 26,400 people were killed in subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to Palestinian officials in the besieged area.
Concerns have been raised about the possibility of a regional conflagration amid attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels and near-daily cross-border shelling between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. There is.
In recent weeks, Iranian-backed militants have stepped up attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria in response to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar said there have been more than 100 attacks on US military bases in the Middle East since Israel began its attack on Gaza.
“Iran's position so far has been…very clear. They maintain that these attacks were not carried out or planned by Iran. They say that Iran has allies throughout the region. “But these allies also make decisions based on their own decisions,” he said.
“The Iranian people do not want regional escalation. Iranian officials are aware that a direct military conflict with Israel would mean war with the United States, a potentially deadly war for Iran. ing.
“As such, Iran has so far avoided direct military conflict with Israel and instead sought action from its allies. This is done through allies such as groups.”
