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The Pentagon on Monday recognized the lifeless troopers as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spec. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spec. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga. The three troopers have been assigned to the 718th Engineer Firm, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, an Military Reserve unit based mostly in Fort Moore, Ga.
The drone strike on the outpost in northeast Jordan close to its borders with Syria and Iraq, referred to as Tower 22, escalated hostilities within the area which were mounting because the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel and the following battle in Gaza.
Mr. Biden has vowed to retaliate, and he met for a second straight day on Monday together with his senior nationwide safety aides to debate doable targets in Syria, Iraq and Iran. Senior U.S. officers stated attacking Iran straight was much less doubtless, although the U.S. navy has drawn up plans to strike Iranian navy advisers and trainers in Iraq and Syria within the occasion that U.S. troops have been killed by Iran-backed militias within the Center East.
Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, on his first day again to work on the Pentagon since he was hospitalized for problems following prostate most cancers, on Monday condemned the assaults and vowed retribution.
“Let me begin with my outrage and sorrow for the deaths of three courageous U.S. troops in Jordan and for the opposite troops who have been wounded,” Mr. Austin stated earlier than assembly with NATO’s secretary normal, Jens Stoltenberg. “The president and I cannot tolerate assaults on U.S. forces, and we’ll take all obligatory actions to defend the U.S. and our troops.”
The drone strike in Jordan underscored that the Iran-backed militias — whether or not in Iran or Syria, or the Houthis in Yemen — remained able to inflicting critical penalties on American troops regardless of the U.S. navy’s efforts to weaken them and keep away from tumbling right into a wider battle, presumably with Iran itself.
American troops in Iraq and Syria, and now Jordan, have come beneath assault at the very least 165 instances since October — 66 instances in Iraq, 98 instances in Syria and Sunday’s assault in Jordan, the Pentagon stated on Monday. Greater than 80 service members had suffered accidents, together with mind trauma, earlier than the newest salvo.
“We all know that Iran helps these teams,” John F. Kirby, a Nationwide Safety Council spokesman, stated on Monday. “We all know they useful resource them, we all know they prepare them. We all know that they’re definitely not discouraging these assaults.”
However Mr. Kirby added, “The diploma to which they order and direct is one thing that intelligence analysts will have a look at.”
Pressed repeatedly at briefings with reporters on Monday about when and the way the USA would reply, Mr. Kirby and Ms. Singh declined to touch upon particular choices. They emphasised that the administration was in search of to avert a wider battle within the area, at the same time as they blamed the assault for escalating tensions.
“We’re not on the lookout for a battle with Iran,” Mr. Kirby stated. “However the assaults should cease.”
For its half, Iran on Monday denied any hyperlink to the assault and blamed Washington for igniting tensions within the area.
About 350 Military and Air Power personnel are deployed to the Tower 22 border outpost. It serves as a logistics and resupply hub for the Al Tanf garrison close by in southeastern Syria, the place American troops work with native Syrian companions to battle remnants of the Islamic State.
The one-way assault drone hit close to the outpost’s residing quarters, inflicting accidents that ranged from minor cuts to mind trauma, a U.S. navy official stated. Eight U.S. service members have been flown to Iraq for medical care, and three of these have been anticipated to be flown to Germany for much more superior remedy, Ms. Singh stated.
The troopers and airmen have been residing in containerized housing models, or CHU’s, Ms. Singh stated, basically aluminum containers just a little larger than a business delivery container. They’ve linoleum flooring and cots or beds inside, and might be simply transported on vans.
“What was completely different about this assault is the place it landed,” Ms. Singh stated. “It was fairly early within the morning, so folks have been truly of their beds when the drone impacted.”
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