Mix-up preceded deadly drone strike in Jordan, US officials say

Washington: Air defenses failed to stop a deadly attack on a US military outpost in Jordan on Sunday because the hostile drone homed in on its target at the same time a US drone was returning to the base, two US officials said Monday.

The return of the American surveillance drone to the remote resupply base prompted some confusion over whether the incoming drone was friendly or not, and air defenses were not immediately activated, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal investigation into the matter. Two other drones that attacked other locations nearby were shot down, they added.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the drone mix-up.

Sunday's attack killed three US service members, the first known US military fatalities from hostile fire in the turmoil spilling over from the Israel-Hamas war. At least 34 others were injured in the strike, which Biden administration officials say used a drone launched by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq.

The drone strike on Tower 22 -- an outpost in northeast Jordan near its borders with Syria and Iraq -- escalated hostilities in the region that have been mounting since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.

US President Joe Biden has vowed to retaliate, and he met Sunday with his senior national security aides to discuss possible targets in Syria, Iraq and Iran. Senior US officials said striking Iran directly was less likely, although the US military has drawn up plans to strike Iranian military advisers and trainers in Iraq and Syria in the event US troops were killed by Iran-backed militias in the Middle East.

The one-way attack drone hit near the outpost's living quarters, causing injuries that ranged from minor cuts to brain trauma, a US military official said. Several US service members were expected to be flown to Germany for medical care, other US officials said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, on his first day back to work at the Pentagon since he was hospitalized for complications after prostate cancer earlier this month, on Monday condemned the attacks and vowed retribution.

"Let me start with my outrage and sorrow for the deaths of three brave US troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded," Austin said before meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. "The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops."

About 350 Army and Air Force personnel are deployed to the Tower 22 border outpost. It serves as a logistics and resupply hub for the al-Tanf garrison nearby in southeastern Syria, where US troops work with local Syrian partners to fight remnants of the Islamic State group.