The United States military will retaliate against an Iraqi militia for an attack that killed three U.S. service members and wounded 34 more.
The Iranian-supported militia launched a drone strike on a small U.S. outpost known as Tower 22 in Jordan near the Syrian border on Sunday, where the service members were killed or injured.
“We will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing,” President Joe Biden said, while Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin affirmed, “We will respond at a time and place of our choosing.”
“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our U.S. service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against U.S. and Coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS,” Austin added. “These brave Americans and their families are in my prayers, and the entire Department of Defense mourns their loss.”
These militias have carried out more than 150 missile and drone attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria dating back to mid-October, which closely coincided with the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel. Dozens of U.S. troops have been injured in these attacks, while the U.S. military has infrequently responded with airstrikes, most often targeting their infrastructure.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by their national security team on Sunday afternoon on the latest regarding the attack. They were briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary Antony Blinken, and Austin, among others.
The U.S. most recently attacked the militia group Kataib Hezbollah (KH) on Jan. 24, in response to their attack against al-Asad airbase in western Iraq on Jan. 20, which injured four U.S. service members.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Iraqi militias are one of Iran’s proxies that Tehran supports throughout the Middle East, many of which are currently carrying out acts against U.S. interests in the region. Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7 attack that shattered the relatively stable situation, is among those proxies, as are Hezbollah, a terrorist group based in Lebanon that has engaged in limited fighting with Israel, and the Houthis in Yemen.
The Houthis have carried out more than thirty attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since mid-November, threatening the global shipping industry. After multiple warnings, the U.S. and U.K. have carried out a series of strikes targeting their capabilities, though the Houthis have retained their ability to carry out the attacks to date.
