US Blames 'Iran-Backed Militias' for Jordan Drone Attack That Killed 3 American Personnel

The United States has attributed the drone attack that killed three US service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella outfit of Iran-backed militias.

On Wednesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US believes the attack was planned, resourced and facilitated by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. He said Biden was continuing to weigh his options, but Kirby said “the first thing you see won’t be the last thing,” adding it “won’t be a one-off.”

Retaliatory strikes

This comes as Washington prepares for retaliatory strikes in the Mideast in the wake of the Sunday drone attack that also wounded more than 40 troops at Tower 22, a base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighboring Syria. Kirby dismissed a statement by Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah announcing “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.”

Read More: ‘Hit Them Hard’: Calls for Retaliation Grow After US Troops Killed in Jordan Attack; Iran Denies Links

As of Wednesday, several militia groups had launched 166 attacks on US military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and one in Jordan, according to the US military. The US has struck back at the militias a few times over the past three months. On Oct. 27, US fighter jets struck two weapons and ammunition storage sites in eastern Syria near Boukamal that were used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed groups. In Syria, fighter jets dropped bombs on an IRGC weapons storage facility near Maysulun in Deir el-Zour on Nov. 8.

On Dec. 26, the US launched strikes on three locations in Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, and on Jan. 23, the US struck three sites in Iraq, again targeting Kataib Hezbollah. Experts belive that further US strikes could further inflame a region already roiled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war began with Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly 2 million others from their homes.

Violence has erupted across the Mideast, with Iran striking targets in Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, and the US carrying out airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels over their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. A US Navy destroyer in the waterway shot down an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis late Tuesday, the latest attack targeting American forces patrolling the key maritime trade route, officials said. The US later launched a new round of airstrikes targeting the Houthis.

“The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the country, its interests and nationals under any pretexts,” said Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He was quoted as saying by IRNA. Amir described any possible Iranian retaliation as a “strong response,” without elaborating.

(With agency inputs)