Drone strike kills US troops: Who did it and how will the US respond? | DW News
Summary
TLDRThree U.S. troops were killed and dozens wounded in a drone attack near a base on Jordan's border with Syria. President Biden blamed Iran-backed militants and vowed to respond. This was the first deadly strike on U.S. soldiers in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. While Iran denies involvement with the groups, defense analysts say Iran funds militias in the region operating under an 'Islamic Resistance' umbrella. There are questions around the level of Iran's coordination in this attack. The U.S. troops were stationed in Jordan to combat ISIS after the Syrian civil war began. Now there is uncertainty around the U.S. response and whether strikes could further escalate tensions and widen the conflict in the region.
Takeaways
- 😣 Three U.S. troops were killed and dozens wounded in a drone attack near a base on Jordan's border with Syria
- 😠 President Biden blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack and vowed to respond
- 😕 This is the first attack that has killed American soldiers in the area since the start of the Israel-Hamas war
- 😟 U.S. officials do not want to see tensions in the Middle East escalate into a regional war
- 🤔 The group claiming responsibility is an umbrella term for Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon
- 😯 Iran denies direct involvement but is known to fund many militia groups in the region
- 🤨 U.S. troops have had a presence in the region since the Syrian civil war to combat ISIS
- 😐 The Iraqi government has asked the U.S. to withdraw troops due to ongoing attacks
- 😫 There is debate around the appropriate U.S. response - from strikes on Iran to sanctions
- 😌 Any U.S. escalation risks widening the war by increasing troop deployments
Q & A
Where did the drone attack that killed 3 US troops take place?
-The drone attack took place near a US military base located on Jordan's border with Syria, in the Rukban region.
What group has claimed responsibility for the drone attack?
-A group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility, although they are considered an umbrella term for various Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
How has President Biden responded to the attack?
-President Biden blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack and vowed to hold those responsible accountable in a manner and time of the US's choosing.
Why are US troops stationed in Jordan near the Syrian border?
-US troops have been stationed there since the Syrian civil war began in 2011 to combat the Islamic State forces.
What kind of response is the US considering?
-Options include conducting strikes on Iranian naval assets, decapitation strikes on militant group leaders, or economic sanctions, but it's unclear which approach will be taken.
How credible is Iran's denial of involvement in the attack?
-Iran enjoys some deniability since it's hard to directly link them to ordering the attack, but they do fund many of the militia groups suspected of carrying it out.
Has Iran been directly implicated in the attack?
-No, more evidence is needed to directly implicate Iran, although their ties to the suspected militant groups are well known.
Why hasn't the Iraqi government wanted US troops stationed in their country?
-Due to the ongoing attacks from Iranian-backed militias, the Iraqi government has asked the US to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Could the US response lead to a broader regional conflict?
-Yes, there are concerns strikes on Iranian territory or deploying more US troops could escalate tensions and widen the conflict across the Middle East.
What are the goals of the suspected militant groups behind the attack?
-While backed by Iran, groups like Hezbollah have their own interests as well, such as targeting common enemies like the US presence in the region.
Outlines
😕 U.S. troops killed in drone strike near Syria
Paragraph 1 summarizes that 3 U.S. troops were killed and others wounded in a drone strike near a base on Jordan's border with Syria. U.S. blames Iran-backed militants. This is the first time U.S. troops have been killed by enemy fire in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. President Biden vowed to respond and hold those responsible to account.
⚔️ Background and analysis of the attack
Paragraph 2 provides analysis and context about the attack. It discusses the Iranian government's denial of involvement, though Iran backs many militia groups in the region. It also covers the presence of U.S. troops in the area since the Syrian civil war to combat Islamic State, and the potential U.S. response options and their implications.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡drone
💡casualty
💡retaliation
💡proxy
💡withdrawal
💡deterrence
💡escalation
💡sanctions
💡civil war
💡sovereignty
Highlights
First time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in Middle East since start of Gaza War
US officials do not want to see tensions in Middle East broaden into regional war
Over 160 drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since start of war, but no serious injuries until now
Killing of 3 Americans is significant escalation of already precarious situation in Middle East
Biden promises to hold those responsible for attack to account in manner and timing of US choosing
Attack carried out by Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq
Iran denies involvement but is known to fund militia groups in the region
Difficult to prove if attack ordered by Iran leadership, though they assist with coordination
US troops originally deployed to combat Islamic State after start of Syrian civil war
Iraq has asked US to withdraw troops due to ongoing attacks by militia
Tensions between Iran and US have been building for years
Questions around whether US response will be enough to deter Iran and militias
Economic sanctions alone have not stopped Iran's military development
Strikes in Yemen not stopping Houthi attacks
Possible increased US troop deployment could widen the war
Transcripts
the United States says three of its
troops have been killed and dozens more
wounded in a drone attack near a base on
Jordan's border with Syria us officials
say the Drone struck near a Barracks at
the base in the rukban region it's the
first time a strike has killed American
soldiers in the area since the start of
the Israel Hamas War President Joe Biden
blamed iran-backed militants for the
attack and vowed to respond Iran denies
any
involvement
DW's Washington bureau chief inz pole
has
more well the killing of the three
Americans in Jordan near the border with
Syria is definitely a significant
escalation of an already precarious
situation in the Middle East uh this is
the first time as you just mentioned
that US troops have been killed by enemy
fire in the Middle East since the
beginning of the Gaza War and the prompt
reaction of President Biden kind of
underlines the significance uh of this
attack he promised to hold those
responsible for the attack I quote him
to account at a time and in a manner our
choosing and he also said I quote him
here as well we know it was carried out
by radical iran-backed militant groups
operating in Syria and Iraq us officials
have repeatedly said that they do not
want to see uh the increasingly High
tensions across the Middle East broaden
into a regional War uh and indeed there
have been more than 160 Oro attacks on
us and Coalition forces in Iraq uh and
Syria since the war started however
until today official officials have
described uh the constant volley of
drones rockets and and missiles as
unsuccessful because they have not
caused Serious injury or damage to
infrastructure this
of course has changed with today and
given the increasing political pressure
President Biden is facing from the
Republican party in this election year
which has just started it indeed doesn't
seem unlikely that the US will increase
their military involvement and with that
of course comes an increasing risk that
the conflict will spread throughout the
whole Middle
East well for more let's bring in Marina
Miran here she's a defense analyst with
King's College London Marina do we know
who's responsible for this
attack good morning Terry well
apparently a group called um um the
Islamic resistance in Iraq is
responsible for this now we have to
understand that this is not a group per
se rather this is an umbrella term used
for Iranian backed militias both in Iraq
and Syria and Lebanon for that matter so
hollah could be such a group so there is
no knowledge which of the militant
groups is responsible for this attack
but it is under this umbrella so it it
is believed and they did claim that the
attack was conducted by
them the Iranian government says it had
nothing to do with the incident but we
know that Iran funds many of these
militia groups in the region how
credible is Iran's claim of
denial well it is interesting because um
Iran will of course enjoy a thin blanket
of plausible deniability because it's
very difficult to demonstrate whether
Ayatollah or or racy were actually
ordering an attack what is important to
understand here while these groups are
being backed by Iran they still have
their own goals um hoodies for example
so they they have some common enemies
like the United States in the region
however in how far the attack has been
coordinated by Iran needs to be proven
it is known that the um Islamic
revolutionary guard CA a cod's force has
been helping these groups to coordinate
attacks so more evidence is needed in
order to implicate
Iran talk to us a little about the US
presence in the region right there where
this attack took place why are US troops
even stationed in Jordan near the border
to
Syria well we have to go back some uh 14
years and remember why the US troops
were there in the first place and the
reason was um on the in the wake of the
Syrian Civil War the US troops were
there to combat the Islamic state so
they stationed not only in Jordan which
is an ally and that's why that position
was not well protected because an ally
country as opposed to Syria um or as
opposed to say Iraq where um there is a
danger of such strikes and therefore we
have US troops across the Middle East uh
stationed since since that time and
right now the Iraqi government has um
asked the US to withdraw its troops from
Iraq because of these ongoing attacks so
this has been going for for for a while
now and prior to Israel Hamas War in
October there were incidents where these
groups were attacking US forces but it
has never come to casualty and we might
might remember um Donald Trump's
response to one of them um killing in
the decapitation strike the former
commander of the cuds force um kasim
sumani so this this conflict between
Iran and the United States has been
developing for many years now right US
President Joe Biden said that the US
would respond to this attack what kind
of response are you
expecting well there seems to be um a
lack of clarity in terms of how to
respond the Republicans want the US to
conduct strikes on the Iranian territory
and that would be the first in history
and that indeed uh in these
circumstances might lead to an broader
escalation of the conflict it is like a
powder CAG however there are other
options um such as striking Iranian
Naval Assets in the Persian Gulf and
conducting again decapitation strikes
against leaders of these militant groups
Under the Umbrella of the Islamic
resistance um of Iraq so there are these
options on the table however the
question is is it going to be enough to
deter both these groups and Iran from
stopping the attacks is this deterrent
credible another option is of course
that can be used in conjunction are
economic sanctions but it seems like
Iran has still flourished in terms of
its military developments uh under
economic sanctions so the idea is to
identify the centers of gravity in order
for the strategy to work to impose um
such measures that would indeed scare
Iran and these groups off uh and prevent
further attacks and we're seeing that
strikes against huti in in Yemen they
they are not making them stop so I'm
wondering which of these strategies will
be chosen or a conjunction of them and
whether they will be successful and
whether it might lead to um an increased
deployment of US troops to the region
which might widen the
war Marina thank you very much for your
insights that was defense analyst Marina
mirin of King's College
London thank you for having
me
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