3 US service members killed, dozens injured, in attack on Al-Tanf military base; Biden says US ‘shall respond’

Three US service members were killed and 28 injured this weekend in an attack on the Al-Tanf US military base near the Jordanian-Syrian border, American and Jordanian officials said Sunday.

In a statement from the White House, US President Joe Biden confirmed the incident, implicating the Iranian regime. “While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” he declared.

The attack is considered as one of the deadliest recent attacks on American troops in the Middle East.

Later Sunday, an Iraqi group calling itself Islamic Resistance said that it was responsible for the attack.

U.S. Central Command said at least 34 troops were injured by the one-way attack drone, with eight flown out of Jordan for follow-up care. It described the eight as being in stable condition.

The large drone struck a logistics support base in Jordan known as Tower 22. It is along the Syrian border and is used largely by troops involved in the advise-and-assist mission for Jordanian forces.