The number of US soldiers injured in a drone attack in Jordan that left three dead increases to 34

MADRID, 29 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States Armed Forces have reported that the number of soldiers injured in a suicide drone attack launched by alleged pro-Iranian militias that occurred last night in Jordan, near the border with Syria, has increased to 34, resulting in the death of three more soldiers.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed this new balance after initially reporting three deaths and 25 wounded, although it has stressed that they expect "this number to fluctuate as service members continue seeking attention.

Of the injured, eight have been evacuated from Jordan "to a higher level care center", although they are now "in stable condition." "All others are being fully evaluated," CENTCOM added in a statement on its website.

The victims' identities have not been made public "out of respect for the families" and in accordance with Department of Defense policy, the statement said. They will wait up to 24 hours after notifying their relatives.

The American president, Joe Biden, was informed on Sunday morning of the attack along with the Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer. Austin has precisely expressed his "anger" and "deep regret" for these deaths and has warned that they will respond "at the time and place we choose."

Washington has specified that the attack occurred at the logistics support base located in Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network, where approximately 350 Army personnel are deployed, carrying out a series of "key support" functions, including support for the coalition for the "lasting defeat" of the Islamic State.

However, the Minister of Communication of the Jordanian Government, Muhanad al Mubaidin, has assured that the attack occurred on Syrian soil and not in Jordanian territory, as Washington has reported. Al Mubaidin explained in statements to Jordanian public television Al Mamlaka that the attack occurred at the American base of Al Tanf, in Syria, just 20 kilometers from Tower 22.

The attack has been claimed by the Islamic Resistance. The group has reported attacks on the bases of Al Shadadi, Rukban and Al Tanf, in Syria, and against the naval facilities of Zevulun, near Haifa, in Israel, "in response to massacres committed by the Zionist entity (Israel) against our people in Gaza." The organization assures that it will continue attacking "the enemy's strongholds", although it is not clear if these attacks correspond to the one that caused the three American fatalities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization based in London but with informants in Syria, has already reported movements by pro-Iran militias in the Euphrates basin for fear of a US military response. Thus, they have withdrawn from Al Rahba, Al Mayadín or Al Bukamal.

This is the first attack in which US soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since the start of the current escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. However, attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq are relatively frequent and since October 17, 158 incidents have been reported, none of them serious, since these types of US installations usually have anti-aircraft defenses.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq is a group of Iraqi Shia militias that share a political vision and have the support of Iran, among which are Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayid al Shuhada, Asaib Ahl al Haq or Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba. At the moment no group has claimed responsibility for the Jordanian attack.