Three American service members were killed and 25 more were injured in an unmanned aerial drone attack on a base in Jordan on Sunday, President Biden and the U.S. military said.
In a statement, the president blamed the attack on “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.” Mr. Biden said the attack happened at a base in northeast Jordan, close to the border with Syria.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees forces in the Middle East, put the number of wounded at 25, and said the identities of those killed would be withheld for 24 hours after their families had been notified.
The attack comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran’s proxies in the region have soared to new levels in recent weeks. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels began attacking shipping vessels in the Red Sea in October to protest Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. and its allies began conducting airstrikes against the group in Yemen earlier this month.
On Friday, the militants launched a missile at the USS Carney, the first time the Houthis had targeted a U.S. warship. The destroyer shot the missile down without any injuries.
The week before, the U.S. military said two Navy SEALs were lost at sea when they went overboard while attempting to board an Iranian vessel that was delivering “advanced conventional weapons” to the Houthi rebels.
In his statement, Mr. Biden called Sunday’s attack in Jordan “despicable and wholly unjust,” noting that “we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”
Stefan Becket
Stefan Becket is assistant managing editor, digital politics, for CBSNews.com. He helps oversee a team covering the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, immigration and federal law enforcement.