Three keys to understanding the attack that killed American soldiers in Jordan

Three American soldiers died in Jordan on Sundaynear the border with Syriain a drone bombing claimed by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

These are the keys to the attack.

Who are responsible?

In a statement, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, attributed the attack Iranian-backed militias operating in Syria and Iraq, without however precisely identifying the group responsible.

Although Washington has not yet identified the perpetrators, the pro-Iranian militia group Islamic resistance in Iraq On Sunday he claimed responsibility for several attacks on positions in Syria and Iraq and took responsibility for the deadly attack on US troops.

According to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the attack killed three soldiers, whose identities have not yet been made public, and left at least 34 injured.

Of the 34 injured, eight suffered serious injuries and had to be evacuated from Jordan to receive medical treatment, although their conditions are stable, CENTCOM said in a statement.

Where did the attack happen?

There are different versions of the exact location of the attack: the United States claims that it occurred at a military base in northeast Jordan, near the border with Syria, while the Jordanian government claims that it occurred outside its territory and targeted an American base in Syria.

Jordan is one of the main allies of the United States in the region, but hundreds of American soldiers are present on its territory It’s a sensitive topic because the majority of the Jordanian population refuses help which Washington supplies to Israel for its offensive on the Gaza Strip.

According to CENTCOM in a statement, the attack occurred against a military base called Jordan ‘Tower 22’, which is strategically located at that point further north-west of the territory Jordan, where its borders meet those of Syria and Iraq.

They are deployed in that base approximately 350 US military personnel. whose mission is to achieve the “lasting defeat” of the terrorist group ISIS, CENTCOM explained.

In addition, “Tower 22” is located near another American military garrison called ‘Al Tanf’, located in Syria very close to the border with Jordan and which, since 2016, is crucial to operations against ISIS, as detailed by the International Crisis Group organization on its website.

The Jordanian government assures that the attack took place against the ‘Al Tanf’ base, contradicting the United States version.

How will the United States respond?

Biden, who was campaigning in South Carolina last Sunday, promised as much in a statement those responsible will be held accountable “at a time and in a manner” that the United States chooses.

Later, at an event at a church in South Carolina, Biden gave a speech to hundreds of worshipers in which he said: “We had a tough day in the Middle East last night. “We lost three brave men in an attack on one of our bases.”

He then asked for a moment of silence and interrupted it with two words: “and we will respond.”

Faced with imminent US response, several pro-Iranian groups in eastern Syria they are “moving”while several militias deployed trucks equipped with rocket launchers to counter possible US bombing, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The death of three American soldiers further aggravates the already fragile situation in the Middle Eastwhere tensions skyrocketed following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people lost their lives, and to which Israeli forces responded with an offensive in the Gaza Strip that left more than 26,000 Palestinians.

Since the conflict began, pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have carried out more than a hundred attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria, wounding at least 70 people, mostly soldiers, with traumatic brain injuries.

Also, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen They attacked ships in the Red Sea and two “navy seals,” as members of the US Navy’s elite corps are called, died in one of them off the coast of Somalia.

The attack on the base near Syria is the first in the Middle East where American casualties have been recorded.