WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Pentagon releases the names of the three U.S. Army service members killed in Sunday’s drone attack of Tower 22 located in northeast Jordan, near the Syrian border.
“Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen—and Americans across the country—in grieving the loss of these warriors in this despicable and wholly unjust attack,” President Joe Biden released in a statement on the attack. “These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country— risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism. It is a fight we will not cease.”
U.S. Central Command confirmed that three Army Reserve soldiers were killed and at least 34 service members injured from a one-way unmanned aerial system (OWUAS) attack on the logistics support base located at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network. Eight personnel had to be airlifted out of Jordan for higher level care but are in stable condition.
The three soldiers who were killed by Sunday’s drone attack on Tower 22 are Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga. All three were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Rivers, Sanders and Moffett were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Ga.
“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our U.S. service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against U.S. and Coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released in a statement on the attack. “These brave Americans and their families are in my prayers, and the entire Department of Defense mourns their loss.”
Austin further stated that Iran-backed militias are responsible for the “continued attacks on U.S. forces.”
President Biden was briefed by members of his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday, January 29, on the latest developments regarding the attack on U.S. service members in northeastern Jordan. He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the attacks.
“We’ll hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” Biden wrote on X.
During a briefing on Monday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh shared that since October 17, 2023, there have been 165 attacks on U.S. personnel and bases in the area. So far for the month of January there have been approximately 50 attacks.
“We are still evaluating what happened yesterday and we have indications of typical behavior by Hezbollah,” Singh said.
According to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Iran is a global funder of terrorism by providing Hezbollah $700 million a year and Hamas $100 million annually to act as Iranian proxies in the region. Gallant, in a press conference told reporters that the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for attacks against U.S. and international vessels and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, are funded by Iran with hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Two months ago, on November 14, the Biden Administration extended a sanctions waiver to allow Iran to access upwards of $10 billion in electricity revenue once held in escrow in Iraq. This announcement came a little over a month after Hamas terrorists—funded by Iran—attacked Israel from Gaza killing over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping over 200.
The U.S. blocked Iran from accessing $6 billion it originally agreed to give in exchange for five American prisoners is September of last year. The monies were transferred from a South Korean bank to Qatar where it remains. The five prisoners have since been released and are now in the U.S.
Iran has denied any involvement in Sunday’s attack that killed three Army Reservist, CNN reported, calling the accusations by the Biden Administration “baseless.”
I'm thinking of those who lost their lives, those wounded, their family members, their friends. Every day we have our men and women in uniform who are putting their lives on the line for our security, for our freedom. — @SecBlinken on yesterday’s attack on U.S. forces in… pic.twitter.com/4AaUFvZ1TD
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 29, 2024
Tower 22 is located near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria. According to US Central Command, approximately 350 US personnel are stationed at the base, supporting coalition forces against ISIS. Prior to Sunday’s attack, King Abdullah II, of Jordan, denied that the Tower 22 base existed, Military.com reports.
CBS news reports that an anonymous Defense Department source shared that the drone was able to evade detection by trailing a U.S. drone that was returning to Tower 22 at the same time, and that the base’s air defense system were turned off.
