Three American Soldiers were killed and over 30 injured in Jordan in an overnight drone attack on the U.S. military base Tower 22 on January 28. This is the first time US soldiers have been killed in action since Iran began strikes against the U.S. in October.
The U.S. does not know which specific group carried out this drone strike, but it is the first time American service members have ever been killed in a drone strike. It is known by the U.S. Military that the drone came out of Syria, just miles outside of Tower 22. It is believed that an Iranian-backed insurgency group is the culprit for this attack, but no specifics have been found.
Iran also made a statement saying they were not involved in the attack, but over the past months the small conflicts began against U.S. service members stationed in the Middle-east, most if not all, were carried out by Iranian-backed terrorist and insurgency militias.
“We know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” said President Biden in a statement addressing the drone strike.
This is only a small piece of a bigger puzzle. For months, Iranian-backed groups have been terrorizing U.S. service members in over 160 attacks since October in countries like Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and others. These attacks have begun to ramp up, such as the attack in Jordan. This is causing Biden and Congress to make a difficult decision, as they have agreed that they want to avoid a head-on conflict with Iran.
It has also been noted that it is highly unlikely that any bombing will be conducted in Iran by the U.S. military. This has presented a problem for the President in terms of if and how to retaliate because most options may put American troops in danger.
“I hope that my country makes the right decision in response to these attacks, I want to live in a peaceful time for once,” NHS junior Trevor Saunders said.
Contrary to the actions of Iran, every decision made by the U.S. is to de-escalate tensions in the Middle-East, as noted by John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council. This is most likely because tensions in the Middle East have been very high throughout the past decades, and every move and decision is fragile regarding war in the Middle-East.
“I think war is the last thing the United States needs right now,” NHS junior Billy Cartelli said.
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