3 US troops killed, 25 wounded in Iran-backed drone attack in Jordan

Three US military personnel were killed and at least 34 wounded when a one-way attack drone struck a base in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border on Sunday.

The lethal incident marks the first time US troops have been killed in the near-daily rocket and drone barrages on bases they use in Iraq and Syria, sharply increasing the likelihood that the United States will be drawn into a lethal cycle of retaliation with Iran-backed militias in the region.

There have been more than 160 such attacks since Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip began following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Until now most had been thwarted by US ground-based air defenses, US officials have said.

The drone struck facilities used by US troops at Tower 22, an auxiliary base roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) south and across the border from the al-Tanf Garrison in Syria, US officials said.