The drone that murdered three American soldiers was really launched by Iranian proxies, but according to a defence department official, it managed to avoid notice because it was following a U.S. drone that was returning to the base in Jordan at the same moment.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the nature of the escalating security situation, the official stated that the assailants, who were part of an Iranian-backed militia, recognised a “opportunity” and “took advantage” of it.
More than 160 strikes against U.S. personnel in Iraq, Syria, and now Jordan have intensified the already volatile situation in the Middle East. The assault has further increased the pressure on the Biden administration to respond with greater ferocity. A number of high-ranking military officers have recently urged Biden to take strong action, even against Iran.
An American official reported that the assault harmed over 30 service men, with multiple cases of traumatic brain injury. According to the official, these troops were among eight who were taken from the base to another facility in Jordan for further medical treatment. Some of them are currently being evaluated for possible transportation abroad for further treatment.
According to two US officials and the official from the Department of Defence, another drone was launched at the United States military installation in Syria called al-Tanf Garrison about 1.5 hours after the hit on the small site known as Tower 22. It was shot down by a U.S. drone, specifically RTX’s Coyote unmanned aerial system, according to the DOD official.
The U.S. drone force frequently defends both Tower 22 and al-Tanf Garrison, which are located just a few kilometres away, according to the DOD official.
The announcement comes as the Pentagon continues to collect details regarding the entry point of an Iranian proxy drone into U.S. defences and its impact on the living quarters at Tower 22, which resulted in injuries to at least 34 additional military members.
Though authorities cited in the Wall Street Journal article claimed that the hostile drone’s simultaneous approaches caused confusion, they were the first to disclose that the enemy drone was approaching while a U.S. drone was also returning to base.
According to the second US official, Iranian proxies attacked U.S. patrol base al-Shaddadi in northeast Syria, despite Biden’s Sunday statement that the US “shall respond” to the strikes. The official reported that the United States has suffered 165 attacks on its troops since October 17th, with 66 of those attacks occurring in Iraq, 98 in Syria, and one in Jordan.
According to retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who was the chief of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, Tower 22 is a modest outpost that usually houses just 300 to 350 troops. Attached to the Rukban refugee camp, the Jordanian base is located near the trifecta of borders with Iraq, Syria, and Syria.
According to Votel, the base is a logistics hub that helps in the war in Syria against the Islamic State and is also a crossing point for U.S. special operations personnel entering the country. According to him, that’s also where the United States trains its Jordanian military.
The housing at Tower 22 is “very temporary,” he remarked. “A place like that would not have any brick-and-mortar structures.”
On Sunday, Republican lawmakers in Congress urged Biden to respond by taking direct aim at Iran. Proposals to seize an Iranian navy or commercial vessel were advanced on Monday by retired Adm. James Stavridis, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, and other former top military officials.
During an interview, Votel emphasised the importance of Biden making it clear that the United States holds Iran accountable. His recommendation was that Washington look into the possibility of targeting “irrelevant assets to Iran and [making] them pay a price for this,” such as places linked to the Quds Force or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or their leaders.
He acknowledged that the possibility of an American attack on Iranian territory “shouldn’t be off the table,” but emphasised that this was just one of several possibilities.
The Iranian government is to blame, according to Votel. “Iran is constantly testing their boundaries to see how far they can go.”