The Islamic Resistance group claimed responsibility for the drone attack on the Al-Tanf US base in Jordan that resulted in the death of three US soldiers and injuries to dozens.
The group cited the attack as a response to what it referred to as the “massacres committed by the Zionist entity (Israel) against our people in Gaza.” The Islamic Resistance mentioned plans to continue attacks on the “strongholds of the enemies.”
Tower 22
The Al-Tanf US military base, housing about 350 US Army and Air Force soldiers, is situated at Tower 22 in Jordan’s northeast, near the borders with Iraq and Syria.
This outpost serves as a supply hub for the nearby US garrison of Al-Tanf in Syria. The drone strike led to the death of three US service members and injuries to 34 near the Jordanian-Syrian border.
US President Joe Biden attributed the attack to radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, claimed responsibility, linking it to US support for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Al-Tanf, strategically located on the Baghdad-Damascus highway, has been significant in the fight against ISIS and forms part of the US strategy to counter Iran’s military presence in eastern Syria.
Currently, approximately 2,500 US troops are stationed in Iraq, with 900 deployed in northeast Syria.
Jordan, maintaining a close security pact with the US, is among the few regional allies engaging in extensive exercises with American troops, and its army is a major recipient of US foreign military financing.
