The Pentagon doesn’t see the Israel-Hamas war as having unfold to the broader Center East regardless of a brand new spherical of assaults by Iran-backed militias that killed three U.S. troopers and injured dozens extra at a army base in Jordan over the weekend.
Since Oct. 17, a unfastened coalition of Iran-backed militia groups have perpetrated greater than 160 assaults on U.S. targets in Iraq and Syria. The teams say the assaults are in retaliation for U.S. help of Israel in its ongoing offensive in opposition to Hamas militants in Gaza.
The American army base in northeastern Jordan generally known as Tower 22 is seen on this satellite tv for pc {photograph}, taken on Oct. 12, 2023. Three American troopers had been killed and others had been wounded in a drone strike on Jan. 28, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC through AP)
The newest assault in Jordan marked a significant escalation of violence, because it was the primary time U.S. troopers have been killed, in addition to an enlargement of attain.
On Monday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh mentioned it was not the Pentagon’s view that the Israel-Hamas battle is spreading past Gaza.
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“I wouldn’t say that the conflict is spreading in that we’ve seen … over 100 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. And of course, now in Jordan,” Singh mentioned. “We don’t want to see a widening of this conflict. We don’t see this conflict widening as it still remains contained to Gaza.”
She conceded that the assault was “escalatory” in that it killed three American service members.
“We don’t want to see a … widening of a regional war. But we will respond at a time and place of our choosing,” Singh mentioned.
L-R: Sgt. William Rivers, Spc. Breonna Moffett, and Spc. Kennedy Sanders. (Fox Information )
Throughout a cease in South Carolina on Sunday, President Biden mentioned the U.S. “shall respond.”
“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East,” Biden mentioned. “We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.”
In a written assertion, the president mentioned the U.S. “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing.”
Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned the U.S. has “been very clear in warning that anyone looking to take advantage of the conflict in the Middle East and try to expand it: don’t do it.”
Since Oct. 17 there have greater than 160 assaults on U.S. targets in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. (Fox Information)
“We’ve taken steps to defend ourselves and to defend our partners as well as prevent escalation,” Blinken mentioned. “The president’s been crystal clear: we will respond decisively to any aggression. And we will hold responsible the people who attacked our troops. We will do so at a time and a place of our choosing.”
Per the DOD, there have been 165 assaults in Iraq, Syria, and now Jordan since Oct. 17. Of those, 66 had been in Iraq, 98 had been in Syria, and one was in Jordan.
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Fallout from the Israel-Hamas battle has spread to the Red Sea the place Houthi militants based mostly in Yemen have for months been firing on business vessels, forcing them to reroute at exorbitant prices. The militants say their actions are in protection of Palestinians below siege in Gaza.
The continued assaults within the Purple Sea prompted the U.S. and its allies to strike Houthi targets in Yemen.
FILE: This {photograph} offered by the Indian Navy exhibits U.S.-owned ship Genco Picardy that got here below assault Wednesday from a bomb-carrying drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels within the Gulf of Aden, Thursday, Jan.18, 2024. (Indian Navy through AP)
Singh mentioned there was nothing “different or new” in regards to the assault in Jordan in comparison with earlier assaults in Iraq and Syria.
“We can’t discount the fact that other attacks, whether it be Iraq or Syria, were not intended to kill our service members,” she mentioned.
Singh reiterated that the U.S. was not in search of battle with Iran, nor did it want to widen the battle.
“We have said and will continue to call out the fact that Iran does fund and equip these groups and provide them the capabilities that they use to attack our service members, whether it be Iraq, Syria, or Jordan,” she mentioned. “So, we’re not going to hesitate in calling that out.”
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The Pentagon mentioned greater than 40 folks had been injured within the weekend assaults on a small desert set up generally known as Tower 22 in Jordan. At the very least eight had been medically evacuated and essentially the most significantly damage service member is in vital however secure situation.
