Tower 22 drone attack

Tower 22 drone attack
Part of the attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (2023–present) and the Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)
Location	Rukban, Jordan
Target	Tower 22 U.S. military base
Date	28 January 2024
Executed by	Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, Islamic Resistance in Iraq
Casualties	3 U.S. soldiers killed and 47 wounded
Tower 22 Tower 22 in Jordan

On 28 January 2024, an attack drone, launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq—an Iranian-backed Shia militia group—struck Tower 22, a U.S. military outpost in Rukban, northeast Jordan. The explosion killed three U.S. soldiers and injured 47 others.

The incident marked the first time U.S. troops were killed by enemy fire since the start of the Israel–Hamas war. President Joe Biden condemned the attack as "despicable" and pledged retaliation at a suitable time. The U.S. began retaliatory strikes on 2 February, hitting sites in Iraq and Syria. Iran denied any involvement in the attack.

Background

Between the 7 October attacks by Hamas in southern Israel and 27 January 2024, Iran-backed groups launched missiles and rockets at US and coalition forces in the Middle East on 160 occasions. In these attacks, about 70 US and coalition soldiers sustained mostly minor injuries. The U.S. had retaliated for these incidents eight times.

About 3,000 US troops were stationed in Jordan at the time. The Tower 22 outpost, established as a Jordanian border outpost, had since 2015 been used by US troops in an "advise and assist" mission, initially training rebels fighting the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and later aiding Kurds fighting the Islamic State. Tower 22, which hosts American engineering, aviation, logistics and security personnel, lies 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Al-Tanf garrison in Syria, where US and local forces collaborate in combating the Islamic State. As of 2020, Tower 22 had an operating AN/TPS-75 transportable 3D air search radar. At the time of the attack, there were about 350 personnel from the US Army and Air Force at Tower 22, including personnel from the Arizona National Guard's 158th Infantry Regiment, the California National Guard's 40th Infantry Division, the Kentucky National Guard's 138th Field Artillery Brigade, and the New York National Guard's 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion.

Attack

An exploding drone struck the outpost's living quarters, killing three American service members who were asleep in tents at the time. They were subsequently identified as belonging to the 926th Engineer Brigade's 718th Engineer Company, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based at Fort Moore, Georgia. The one man and two women killed were as Sgt. William Rivers, 46; Specialist Kennedy Sanders, 24; and Specialist Breonna Moffett, 23; all Georgia natives.

At least 47 others were injured in the attack, eight of whom had to be medically evacuated outside Jordan, to the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq. Of these eight, three were transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for follow-up care. U.S. personnel were evaluated for possible traumatic brain injury. Most of the injured served in the US National Guard and belonged to units based in Arizona, California, Kentucky and New York. By 31 January, at least 27 service personnel were able to report back to duty.

The failure of air defenses to intercept the drone was a key focus of the subsequent U.S. Central Command investigation of the attack. A U.S. preliminary report found that the hostile drone attacked around the same time an American surveillance drone was returning to the base, which likely led to confusion over whether it was an enemy drone and delayed a response.

Responsibility

In the aftermath of the attack, U.S. officials assessed that one of several Iranian-supported groups had launched the attack, although it did not specifically identify the precise group responsible. A US official indicated that a Shahed drone was used in the attack, and a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense said that the attack had the "footprints" of Kata'ib Hezbollah.

Later in the day, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed factions, claimed that it had launched attacks on that day on an Israeli oil facility in the Mediterranean Sea as well as three US military bases in Syria, namely Shaddadi, Tanf and Rukban, the last of which is located on Jordanian side of the border with Syria. However, the U.S. said the attack on Tower 22 was the only attack on its forces that it had tracked that day. Two other enemy drones, targeting sites in southeast Syria, were shot down. The US formally blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq for the attack on 31 January.

On 17 June 2024, the U.S. Department of State designated Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (19th PMF Brigade) as a terrorist organization, following their involvement in the attack on Tower 22.

Aftermath

The remains of the deceased soldiers were returned to the United States on 2 February and were received with a transfer ceremony upon their arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware that was also attended by president Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr., as well as the families of those killed. Tributes were paid at the victims' respective communities, while their funerals were held from 13 to 17 February. One of the soldiers was buried at the Georgia National Cemetery.

According to Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist and the head of the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria began evacuating their posts in fear of retaliatory US strikes shortly after the attack took place.

US response

Main article: February 2024 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria

On 1 February, CBS reported that the White House had approved airstrikes on Iranian personnel and facilities in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the attack, with the exact time dependent on weather factors. On 2 February, the US launched retaliatory airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Around 85 targets linked to pro-Iranian forces were hit in seven different sites in Iraq and Syria.

On 15 February, US officials announced that a cyberattack was conducted against an Iranian spy ship which was collecting intelligence on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The officials said that the cyberattack, which occurred more than a week prior to the announcement, was in response to the drone attack and was meant to hinder the vessel's ability to communicate with the Houthis.

Reactions

United States

In the immediate aftermath of the attack U.S. President Joe Biden said the attack was "despicable" and vowed that the U.S. "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing"; U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said: "we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests." Jack Reed, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was "confident the Biden Administration will respond in a deliberate and proportional manner." Republican senators John Cornyn, Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham called on the White House to directly target Iran in response to the attacks. Former CIA director John Brennan described the attack as a "dangerous escalation" in the Middle East.

The governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, issued a statement mourning the "inexcusable loss of life" of the three soldiers, saying they "gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country." Brigadier General Todd Lazaroski, commander of the US Army Reserve's 412th Engineer Command, said that "they represent the best of America." Flags were set at half-mast in Waycross, where one of the soldiers lived. Lieutenant General Jody Daniels, chief of the United States Army Reserve and commanding of the United States Army Reserve Command, also paid tribute to the soldiers and pledged to support "those left behind in the wake of this tragedy".

Middle East

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the attack was a message to the US administration that "unless the killing of innocents in Gaza stops, it must confront the entire [Muslim] nation." and warned that the conflict could lead to a "regional explosion." Kata'ib Hezbollah said that it would suspend military operations against US forces "to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government".

Iran denied involvement in the attack, but said "resistance groups in the region are responding [to] the war crimes and genocide of the child-killing Zionist regime." The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned that the country would respond to any US threat following plans by Washington to retaliate.

Jordan condemned the attack and said it was cooperating with Washington to secure its borders. However, the Jordanian government spokesperson Muhannad Al Mubaidin insisted that the attack had happened outside of the kingdom across the border in Syria's al-Tanf base.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, expressed solidarity, and affirmed its stance against any terrorist acts that threaten the stability and security of Jordan. It also emphasized the necessity of confronting all forms of terrorism and rejecting violence to maintain security in the region.

The attack was also condemned by Bahrain.

Iraq condemned the attack, describing it as an "ongoing escalation" and said it was willing to collaborate on establishing rules to prevent "further repercussions" and escalation of the conflict in the region.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz extended his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in the attack and wished for a speedy recovery for the injured.

Qatar warned that the response of the United States might risk compromising a temporary Israel–Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal currently in progress.

The Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the attack, affirming the group's stance against violence and "any attempt to disrupt peace in the region".

Other countries

The United Kingdom "absolutely condemned" the attack. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was concerned about tensions in the region and urged Iran to de-escalate. Foreign Secretary David Cameron also called on Iran to "de-escalate in the region."

See also

• 2024 Erbil attack
• Jordan–United States relations
• List of wars involving the United States
• United States support for Israel in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
• Rukban and Rukban refugee camp
• Jordanian–Syrian border incidents during the Syrian civil war
• Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)