By Mike Glenn – The Washington Times |
The Pentagon on Monday identified the three U.S. Army troops killed over the weekend in a drone attack on a base in Jordan near the Syrian border, an attack that has sent tensions soaring with Iran and its allies in the region.
They are Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46; Spec. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24; and Spec. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23. They were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, part of the 926th Engineer Brigade at Fort Moore, Georgia.
They died on Jan. 28 when a one-way drone struck their housing unit at Tower 22, the base in Jordan that provides logistics support for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. mission to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State terror army, officials said.
Pentagon officials said that at least 40 other American service personnel were injured in the strike, a number that could rise.
President Biden has blamed the drone strike, which also injured dozens of other troops, on militant groups that are backed and supported by Iran and said the U.S. would strike back at a time and place of its own choosing.
U.S. Central Command has launched an investigation into how the drone was able to elude air defense weapons at the base. There were reports that a hostile drone may have been confused with an American surveillance drone that was scheduled to return to the Jordan base at roughly the same time.
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