Biden said the United States “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldMEnglish
      361·
      10 months ago

      That’s actually a really good question:

      https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/americans-killed-middle-east-1.7097419

      “The small installation, which Jordan does not publicly disclose, includes U.S. engineering, aviation, logistics and security troops. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the troops were deployed there “to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS.” Three officials said the drone struck near the troops’ sleeping quarters, which they said explained the high casualty count.”

      All just part of our long standing partnership with Jordan. Interesting that Jordan is not claiming the installation, preferring to state it’s in Syria.

      • Tangent5280@lemmy.worldEnglish
        256·
        10 months ago

        Jordan not taking responsibility for the base on their land is how you know some shady ass black site shit is going on there - it’s a convenient way to reduce liability in case it ever comes out.

        Syria being a near failed state seems like a good scapegoat to pin shit like this on.

        • jordanlund@lemmy.worldMEnglish
          15·
          10 months ago

          Or they just don’t want to get dragged into a larger conflict. “Jordan? Nah, nah, nah, it ain’t LIKE that… that’s SYRIA!”

          • Tangent5280@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            10 months ago

            This makes more sense, considering what a hotbed that entire region is. But wouldn’t this cause issues if Syria later claims that the base is actually on their land and redraes borders or something?

            • jordanlund@lemmy.worldMEnglish
              3·
              10 months ago

              Oh, definitely, but I don’t think Syria is all that organized at this point. Jordan’s probably counting on that.

        • BigPotato@lemmy.worldEnglish
          131·
          10 months ago

          Tower 22 is more like a rear det for Al Tanf. It’s a way to project force into Syria without actually going in and leaving the SDF to work the Syrian side, with the implication that Syria might attack the SDF base but not risk attacking Jordan. There are bases in Jordan, well, not bases like Germany or Kuwait but diplomatic compounds with every thing that comes with that.

          It’s not a black site though, they’ve posted pictures a few years back when a Syrian drone wrecked a few buildings.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    3·
    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. “shall respond” after three American troops were killed and dozens more were injured in an overnight drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border.

    Iran-backed fighters in east Syria began evacuating their posts, fearing U.S. airstrikes, according to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet.

    The U.S. in recent months has struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to respond to attacks on American forces in the region and to deter Iran-backed Houthi rebels from continuing to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

    Jordan, a staunch Western ally and a crucial power in Jerusalem for its oversight of holy sites there, is suspected of launching airstrikes in Syria to disrupt drug smugglers, including one that killed nine people earlier this month.

    Three officials with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with journalists, said the drone attack against the base in Jordan was launched by one of the Iraqi groups.

    Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell in Beirut, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan and Jon Gambrell in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

    The original article contains 1,094 words, the summary contains 211 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!