Three U.S. service members were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden and U.S. officials said on Sunday.
Reuters reports, that the first deadly strike against U.S. forces since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October, and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East.
“While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said in a statement.
“Have no doubt – we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” he said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday that Tehran was not involved in the attack.
“Iran had no connection and had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. base,” the mission said in a statement published by the state news agency IRNA.
It added: “There is a conflict between U.S. forces and resistance groups in the region, which reciprocate retaliatory attacks.”
