Mistake may have led to deadly drone attack
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – New details are emerging about a drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.
President Joe Biden says Iran-backed militant groups were behind it, but a military mistake may have been involved too.
As military leaders investigate, we’re learning the drone may have been let onto the base by mistake and that led to an attack that cost three U.S. soldiers their lives.
“The names of those soldiers who lost their lives were Sergeant William Rivers, Specialist Kennedy Sanders, and Specialist Brionna Moffitt,” said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
The deaths of the soldiers is prompting sadness and outrage from top military leaders.
“The president and I will not tolerate attack on U.S. forces,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the troops were killed in a drone attack at a U.S. military base in Jordan which also hurt over 40 other servicemembers and the Pentagon blames Iran- backed militant groups for the strike.
“Iran continues to arm and equip these groups to launch these attacks,” said Singh.
A preliminary report suggests human error may have been involved too.
It says U.S. forces may have mistaken the enemy drone for an American one and as a result they didn’t try to shoot it down as it entered the base.
“We are still assessing what happened and how a one-way attack drone was able to impact the facility,” said Singh.
In the aftermath of the attack, President Biden huddled with national security advisers in the situation room to discuss how to retaliate.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. will respond decisively.
“We will hold responsible the people who attacked our troops. We will do so at a time and a place of our choosing,” said Blinken.
The White House acknowledges that will be a difficult balancing act with the president promising to hit back forcefully, but also weighing concerns about escalating the war in the Middle East.
The Pentagon says they don’t think the death toll from the attack will grow, but warns we may see a larger number of injuries as soldiers continue reporting symptoms.
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