2024-01-28 22:03:24
Three American soldiers were killed and 25 injured in a drone attack in Jordan, President Joe Biden said on Sunday, threatening reprisals against the perpetrators, pro-Iran groups according to him.
This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, raising renewed fears of an escalation of tensions against a backdrop of war. latent between Israel and Iran.
“Today, America has a heavy heart. Last night, three American service members were killed and several injured in a drone attack on our forces based in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border,” the US president said in a statement. The US Middle East Command (Centcom) said 25 soldiers were injured.
“We will be held accountable”
“Have no doubt: we will hold all those responsible accountable, when and how we want,” added Joe Biden, his tone threatening. He said that at this point, “we know that this was carried out by radical Iranian-backed fighter groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
The American president discussed the situation on Sunday with his vice-president Kamala Harris and the heads of diplomacy, the Pentagon and the CIA in particular, the White House said. “We will respond,” the American president later assured on the sidelines of a trip to South Carolina.
The spokesperson for the Jordanian government, Muhannad Mubaidin, affirmed that the attack had not taken place in Jordan but had “targeted the Al-Tanf base in Syria”, a strategic base of the anti-jihadist coalition located in a desert area near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
On its Telegram account, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a nebula of fighters from pro-Iran armed groups, for its part claimed “attacks carried out on Sunday at dawn with drones” against three bases in Syrian territory, including those of Al-Tanf and Rukban, very close by.
Sami Abou Zahri, a Hamas spokesman, said the death of the three soldiers “is a message to the American administration” that “the continuation of American-Zionist aggression in Gaza risks a regional explosion” with the anger “of the whole” of the Muslim world.
Regional explosion
These American military deaths occur in an explosive context: in addition to the war in Gaza, there have been multiple strikes and attacks between, on the one hand, Iran and its regional allies, and on the other Israel, the United States. United and their partners. Since mid-October, more than 150 drone strikes or rocket attacks have targeted American and coalition soldiers in Iraq and Syria. They are generally claimed by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”.
Washington had so far responded with targeted strikes in Iraq but these retaliations have remained contained for the moment. Iran and the United States have reiterated that they do not want a regional explosion.
Further south, the Houthis have been targeting international maritime traffic off the coast of Yemen for several months, saying they are acting in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. In response, Washington has repeatedly bombed the positions of these rebels supported by Tehran since the beginning of January. The United States even asked China to intercede with Iran to stop these attacks which have seriously disrupted world trade.
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