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32-519: The area became in 2014 one of the crossing points for Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War . While Jordan welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria, the country specifically blocked the refugees at Rukban from entering, citing security concerns regarding the presence of hidden ISIS sleeper cells . This led to thousands of refugees piling up on the Syrian side of the border, creating

64-609: A U.S. military outpost in Rukban , northeast Jordan . The explosion killed three U.S. soldiers and injured 47 others. The incident marked the first time U.S. troops were killed by enemy fire since the start of the Israel–Hamas war . President Joe Biden condemned the attack as "despicable" and pledged retaliation at a suitable time. The U.S. began retaliatory strikes on 2 February, hitting sites in Iraq and Syria. Iran denied any involvement in

96-583: A small US army outpost based in Rukban, known as Tower 22, was targeted by a drone attack launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq , which killed 3 American soldiers and injured at least 34 others. Rukban is an arid remote area in northeast Jordan adjacent to the Jordan–Syria border , and close to the tripoint with Iraq . The area became in 2014 one of the crossing points for Syrian refugees fleeing

128-546: Is not Jordan's problem alone, this is an international responsibility" and that it "has provided for refugees what no other country has, with regard to its resources. We will not allow anyone to take the higher moral ground". Jordan afterwards declared its northern and eastern borders closed military areas, and stressed that the armed forces' border guards will not tolerate any uncoordinated movements approaching its borders and that force will be decisively used against it. Another attack happened on 17 December 2016, 3 km north of

160-789: The Al-Tanf garrison in Syria , where US and local forces collaborate in combating the Islamic State . As of 2020, Tower   22 had an operating AN/TPS-75 transportable 3D air search radar. At the time of the attack, there were about 350 personnel from the US Army and Air Force at Tower   22, including personnel from the Arizona National Guard 's 158th Infantry Regiment, the California National Guard 's 40th Infantry Division ,

192-768: The Kentucky National Guard 's 138th Field Artillery Brigade , and the New York National Guard 's 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion. An exploding drone struck the outpost's living quarters, killing three American service members who were asleep in tents at the time. They were subsequently identified as belonging to the 926th Engineer Brigade 's 718th Engineer Company, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based at Fort Moore , Georgia . The one man and two women killed were as Sgt. William Rivers, 46; Specialist Kennedy Sanders, 24; and Specialist Breonna Moffett, 23; all Georgia natives. At least 47 others were injured in

224-453: The Rukban refugee camp . In 2016, a car passing from the refugee camp in Syria managed to reach a Jordanian army outpost, exploding and killing 6 and injuring 14 Jordanian soldiers. Jordan thereafter declared its eastern and northern border closed military zones. The camp in Syria witnessed further incidents, including two car bomb attacks that killed tens of refugees in 2016 and 2017. In 2024,

256-455: The Syrian Civil War . While Jordan welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria, the country specifically blocked the refugees at Rukban from entering, citing security concerns regarding the presence of hidden ISIS sleeper cells . This led to thousands of refugees piling up on the Syrian side of the border, creating the Rukban refugee camp , which led to criticism of Jordan by international human rights organizations in 2015. In 2015,

288-547: The Mediterranean Sea as well as three US military bases in Syria, namely Shaddadi , Tanf and Rukban, the last of which is located on Jordanian side of the border with Syria . However, the U.S. said the attack on Tower 22 was the only attack on its forces that it had tracked that day. Two other enemy drones, targeting sites in southeast Syria, were shot down. The US formally blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq for

320-448: The UN agreed with Jordan that the number of refugees that it is hosting gives rise to legitimate security concerns, however, it did not concede that Rukban residents presented any specific or additional security concern, and called on Jordan to immediately allow refugees in Rukban to access the country. Melessa Flemming of UNHCR said: "UN officials accept Jordan has legitimate security concerns, but

352-407: The UN continues to urge Jordan to permit residents of Rukban to enter Jordan." The number of Syrians there rose to 75,000 in 2016, becoming a de facto camp in Syrian territory, which drew heavy criticism and condemnation of Jordan from Human Rights Watch in 2015. At dawn on 21 June 2016, a car crossed over from Rukban on Syrian territory and managed to reach a Jordanian army outpost designated for

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384-497: The US launched retaliatory airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Around 85 targets linked to pro-Iranian forces were hit in seven different sites in Iraq and Syria. On 15 February, US officials announced that a cyberattack was conducted against an Iranian spy ship which was collecting intelligence on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden . The officials said that

416-729: The United States, our troops, and our interests." Jack Reed , the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , said he was "confident the Biden Administration will respond in a deliberate and proportional manner." Republican senators John Cornyn , Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham called on the White House to directly target Iran in response to the attacks. Former CIA director John Brennan described

448-624: The attack as a "dangerous escalation" in the Middle East. The governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp , issued a statement mourning the "inexcusable loss of life" of the three soldiers, saying they "gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country." Brigadier General Todd Lazaroski, commander of the US Army Reserve's 412th Engineer Command , said that "they represent the best of America." Flags were set at half-mast in Waycross , where one of

480-462: The attack on 31 January. On 17 June 2024, the U.S. Department of State designated Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (19th PMF Brigade) as a terrorist organization, following their involvement in the attack on Tower 22. The remains of the deceased soldiers were returned to the United States on 2 February and were received with a transfer ceremony upon their arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware that

512-802: The attack, eight of whom had to be medically evacuated outside Jordan, to the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq. Of these eight, three were transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for follow-up care. U.S. personnel were evaluated for possible traumatic brain injury . Most of the injured served in the US National Guard and belonged to units based in Arizona , California , Kentucky and New York . By 31 January, at least 27 service personnel were able to report back to duty. The failure of air defenses to intercept

544-510: The attack, although it did not specifically identify the precise group responsible. A US official indicated that a Shahed drone was used in the attack, and a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense said that the attack had the "footprints" of Kata'ib Hezbollah . Later in the day, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq , an umbrella group of Iranian-backed factions, claimed that it had launched attacks on that day on an Israeli oil facility in

576-498: The attack, expressed solidarity, and affirmed its stance against any terrorist acts that threaten the stability and security of Jordan. It also emphasized the necessity of confronting all forms of terrorism and rejecting violence to maintain security in the region. The attack was also condemned by Bahrain. Iraq condemned the attack, describing it as an "ongoing escalation" and said it was willing to collaborate on establishing rules to prevent "further repercussions" and escalation of

608-461: The attack. Between the 7 October attacks by Hamas in southern Israel and 27 January 2024, Iran-backed groups launched missiles and rockets at US and coalition forces in the Middle East on 160 occasions. In these attacks, about 70 US and coalition soldiers sustained mostly minor injuries. The U.S. had retaliated for these incidents eight times. About 3,000 US troops were stationed in Jordan at

640-526: The border in the refugee camp which lies in Syria, resulting in 2 dead and 15 injured Syrians. On 21 January 2017, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , a third explosion went off in the camp by a car bomb , in which 4 Syrians were killed and 14 were injured. The injured were evacuated by the Jordanian army into a medical facility. A Jordanian military source said a car bomb exploded in

672-437: The conflict in the region. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz extended his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in the attack and wished for a speedy recovery for the injured. Qatar warned that the response of the United States might risk compromising a temporary Israel–Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal currently in progress. The Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi , condemned

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704-456: The country would respond to any US threat following plans by Washington to retaliate. Jordan condemned the attack and said it was cooperating with Washington to secure its borders. However, the Jordanian government spokesperson Muhannad Al Mubaidin insisted that the attack had happened outside of the kingdom across the border in Syria's al-Tanf base. Egypt 's Foreign Ministry condemned

736-549: The cyberattack, which occurred more than a week prior to the announcement, was in response to the drone attack and was meant to hinder the vessel's ability to communicate with the Houthis . In the immediate aftermath of the attack U.S. President Joe Biden said the attack was "despicable" and vowed that the U.S. "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing"; U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said: "we will take all necessary actions to defend

768-537: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 456297942 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 06:51:54 GMT Tower 22 drone attack Lebanon Iran, Iraq and Syria Yemen and the Red Sea Deaths Related topics On 28   January 2024, an attack drone , launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq —an Iranian-backed Shia militia group—struck Tower   22,

800-444: The distribution of humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees. The car exploded, killing 6 and injuring 14 Jordanian soldiers. Jordanian minister of foreign affairs Nasser Judeh said in a press conference about the incident that "we don't need a hideous terrorist attack like this one to prove to the world the legitimacy of our security concerns". He added that Jordan "will not put the lives of our soldiers and our country at risk because this

832-450: The drone was a key focus of the subsequent U.S. Central Command investigation of the attack. A U.S. preliminary report found that the hostile drone attacked around the same time an American surveillance drone was returning to the base, which likely led to confusion over whether it was an enemy drone and delayed a response. In the aftermath of the attack, U.S. officials assessed that one of several Iranian-supported groups had launched

864-515: The entire [Muslim] nation ." and warned that the conflict could lead to a "regional explosion." Kata'ib Hezbollah said that it would suspend military operations against US forces "to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government". Iran denied involvement in the attack, but said "resistance groups in the region are responding [to] the war crimes and genocide of the child-killing Zionist regime." The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned that

896-463: The head of the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria began evacuating their posts in fear of retaliatory US strikes shortly after the attack took place. On 1 February, CBS reported that the White House had approved airstrikes on Iranian personnel and facilities in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the attack, with the exact time dependent on weather factors. On 2 February,

928-590: The market area of the camp in Syria on 3 May 2017, killing four Syrians and injuring others. On 28 January 2024, a US army logistics support base in north-east Jordan was hit by a drone attack launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq , which killed 3 American soldiers and injured 34. Refugees of the Syrian Civil War Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

960-638: The soldiers lived. Lieutenant General Jody Daniels , chief of the United States Army Reserve and commanding of the United States Army Reserve Command , also paid tribute to the soldiers and pledged to support "those left behind in the wake of this tragedy". Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the attack was a message to the US administration that "unless the killing of innocents in Gaza stops, it must confront

992-426: The time. The Tower   22 outpost, established as a Jordanian border outpost, had since 2015 been used by US troops in an "advise and assist" mission, initially training rebels fighting the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and later aiding Kurds fighting the Islamic State . Tower   22, which hosts American engineering, aviation, logistics and security personnel, lies 20 kilometers (12 miles) from

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1024-539: Was also attended by president Joe Biden , first lady Jill Biden and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. , as well as the families of those killed. Tributes were paid at the victims' respective communities, while their funerals were held from 13 to 17 February. One of the soldiers was buried at the Georgia National Cemetery . According to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist and

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