Three U.S. Army soldiers have been killed while at least two dozen service members were injured in a drone attack on a small US outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.
The attack was first reported by CNN, and when it occurred was unclear late-Sunday morning.
The incident at Tower 22 is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East, and US officials have accused Iran-backed militants of being behind the attack.
The drone appeared to have come from Syria and bypassed air defenses, making it unclear how an unmanned aircraft slipped by undetected.
US Central Command confirmed in a statement that the drone attack was a one-way operation that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.”
The U.S. forces at the outpost were there as part of an advise-and-assist mission with Jordan. Although officials have described the constant volley of drones, rockets, and missiles as unsuccessful for their failure to cause significant injury or damage to infrastructure, there have been more than 158 attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria since October 2021.
