Pentagon names three US soldiers killed in Jordan attack

The three US soldiers who were killed in a drone attack in Jordan have been named by the US Department of Defence.

During a news conference on Monday, the Pentagon named the soldiers as Sgt William Jerome Rivers, 46, specialist (Spc) Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24 and Spc Breonna Alexsondria Moffet, 23.

They came from an army reserve unit based in Georgia and were all supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the Department of Defence added.

It said in a statement: “Sgt William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia, Spc Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, died January 28, 2024, in Jordan, when a one-way unmanned aerial system (OWUAS) impacted their container housing units. The incident is under investigation.

“Rivers, Sanders and Moffett were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia.”

A US official added that the drone arrived at the same time as a returning US drone and as a result elements of the defence system were turned off.

The Pentagon’s deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the number of people injured in the attack – which hit soldiers sleeping in tents at a place called Tower 22 – is now more than 40.

“We do expect that number to continue to fluctuate as our service members with [traumatic brain injuries] report symptoms later on,” she added.

“So that number could continue to grow.”

Ms Singh said the attack was carried out by a militia backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and that Iran “have their fingerprints on this”.

“We don’t seek war, but we will take action, and respond to attacks on our forces,” she added.

“We know that Iran is behind it. Iran continues to arm and equip these groups to launch these attacks.

“I don’t have more to share in terms of an intelligence assessment on if leaders in Iran were directing this attack, but what I can tell you is that we know these groups are supported by Iran.”

Iran has denied any involvement and said it was “not involved in the decision making of resistance groups”.

The attack, which happened on Sunday, is the first time US troops have been killed in the region since the war began in Gaza.

US troops in Iraq and Syria have been facing drone and missile attacks on their bases, but this was the first time they had been attacked in Jordan.

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President Joe Biden previously stated the US “shall respond” and vowed to carry on a “commitment to fight terrorism”.

“And have no doubt – we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” he added.

In a statement, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests.”

He added that the troops were deployed there “to work for the lasting defeat of Isis.”

Lord David Cameron also condemned the actions of Iranian-backed militias and renewed calls for Iran to de-escalate in the region.

In a statement on Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency, the country “condemned the terrorist attack” and described the drone strike as targeting “an outpost on the border with Syria”. It said it did not wound any Jordanian troops.

“Jordan will continue to counter terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and weapons across the Syrian border into Jordan, and will confront with firmness and determination anyone who attempts to attack the security of the kingdom,” the statement attributed to Muhannad Mubaidin, the Jordanian Minister of Government Communications, said.

The US has long used Jordan as a basing point, with about 3,000 troops typically stationed there.