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

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - 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 Brookland Baptist Banquet Center.

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

Three US service members were killed and "many" were injured during an overnight drone attack on American forces stationed in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, Biden and his senior officials have said. The exact number of wounded remains unclear, but reports have placed them in the dozens.

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

While multiple US officials, including Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have maintained the attack took place in northeastern Syria, Jordanian officials have said the attack was not on their soil, but in a border area in Syria outside of the control of the Assad regime.

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.

Austin, the US defense secretary, 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."