Enemy drone mistaken for US' in Jordan: Report

WASHINGTON — US forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for a US one and let it pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan where it killed three US troops and wounded dozens more, officials said Monday.

The drone attack was one of dozens on US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza conflict. But it's the first in which US soldiers have been killed.

Details of the attack emerged as US President Joe Biden faced a difficult situation as he looks to strike back in a way without causing any further escalation of the Gaza conflict.

As the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a US drone was returning to the small installation known as Tower 22, according to a preliminary report cited by two officials, The Associated Press reported.

As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone that hit the outpost. One of the trailers where troops sleep sustained the brunt of the strike while surrounding trailers suffered limited damage from the blast and flying debris.

While there are no large air defense systems at Tower 22, the base does have counter-drone systems, such as Coyote drone interceptors.

Aside from the soldiers killed, the Pentagon said more than 40 troops were wounded in the attack, most with cuts, bruises, brain injuries and similar wounds. Eight were medically evacuated, including three who were being sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The other five, who suffered "minor traumatic brain injuries", were expected to return to duty.

Asked if the failure to shoot down the enemy drone was "human error", Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the US Central Command was still assessing the matter.

Nonetheless, the Biden administration has accused Teheran behind the strike.

Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan strike. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday rejected the country's involvement, and said the accusation is "baseless and provocative".

"These claims are made with specific political goals to reverse the realities of the region," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying.

The Iranian envoy to the United Nations said the country does not bear responsibility for actions by any individual or group in the region, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Biden met with national security advisers in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments and potential retaliation.

"There's no easy answer here," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Calm urged

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday the current situation in the Middle East is highly complex and sensitive.

"We hope relevant parties will remain calm and exercise restraint, step up dialogue and communication, avoid getting into a vicious cycle of revenge, and prevent further escalation of tensions in the region," he told a daily briefing.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said as he met at the Pentagon with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: "The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops."

The attack came amid increased fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East and the possibility that the US may be further drawn into the fighting.

US troops in Syria and Iraq have frequently come under attack by resistance groups in the region since the Gaza conflict broke out on Oct 7.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday called the attack "yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden's weakness and surrender".

Agencies via Xinhua