WASHINGTON: A drone attack on a base in Jordan killed three American troops, with President Joe Biden blaming Iran-backed militants for the first US military deaths in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Iran said it had nothing to do with the attack and denied US and British accusations that it supported militant groups responsible for the strike on the remote frontier base in Jordan’s northeast, near the borders with Iraq and Syria.
“While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement, pledging to hold “all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
Biden later held a moment of silence at a South Carolina church banquet hall for the US troops killed in the attack, vowing: “We shall respond.”
With the region already tense as fighting rages in Gaza, the strike will also raise fears of a broader conflict directly involving Tehran.
There has so far been no claim of responsibility for the strike but British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reiterated a call for Iran “to de-escalate in the region.”
He also condemned the attack “by Iran-aligned militia groups” in a post on social media platform X.
Iranian representatives at the United Nations told the official IRNA news agency Tehran had nothing to do with the attack. A foreign ministry spokesman also rejected the US and British accusations.
“These claims are made with specific political goals to reverse the realities of the region,” IRNA quoted foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying.
‘Regional Explosion’
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the Jordan attack was “a message to the American administration”.
“The continuation of the American-Zionist aggression on Gaza risks a regional explosion,” Abu Zuhri said.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late on Sunday the attack had hit the remote Tower 22 logistics support base and that 34 personnel were also wounded, eight of whom required evacuation.
There are around 350 US Army and Air Force personnel at the base who operate in support roles, including for the international coalition against the Islamic State group, CENTCOM said.
Jordan’s government spokesman Muhannad Mubaidin condemned the attack, as did Bahrain and Egypt.
The escalating Middle East conflict poses a challenge to Biden in an election year.
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