‘We shall respond,' Biden says after attack kills 3 US troops in northeast Jordan

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden vowed Sunday to respond after a drone attack blamed on Iranian proxy groups killed three American service members and injured dozens more in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border.

“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls," Biden said during a Sunday lunch event at the Brookland Baptist Banquet Center.

"We shall respond," the president added after holding a moment of silence for the soldiers killed.

US Central Command confirmed that three service members were killed and at least 34 others were injured in the suicide drone attack but said the military expects the total number of injured "to fluctuate as service members continue to seek follow-on care."

Eight of those who were injured needed to be evacuated out of Jordan to receive additional medical care but "are in stable condition."

The command identified the location of the attack as a facility in northeastern Jordan known as Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network. Roughly 350 troops are stationed there. Jordanian officials previously said the attack was not on their soil but in a border area in Syria outside of the control of the Assad regime.

Multiple reports said Tower 22 serves as a logistic hub for Al Tanf Garrison, which is located across the border in Syria.

The fatalities are the first amid months of attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria that began following Israel's war on the besieged Gaza Strip in October.

The Pentagon declined to provide an exact location for the attack but said in response to an inquiry from Anadolu that "additional information will be provided as it becomes available."

Multiple reports citing anonymous sources said the attack hit a military installation called Tower 22 inside Jordan across the border from the Al Tanf Garrison in Syria.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said neither he nor Biden will "tolerate attacks on American forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests.”

Biden has vowed to "hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing."