Two US troops killed, one missing in Iranian attack on Jordan

Two U.S. service members were killed Friday in an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan, U.S. Central Command announced.

A third service member is missing, CENTCOM said, and four others were injured.

The attack was part of a wave of Iranian drone and ballistic missile strikes on American positions around the Middle East as renewed fighting in the war continues.

CENTCOM did not say what base in Jordan was hit. Iranian media reports that its forces targeted the Al-Azraq Base in Jordan.

The military also did not identify the troops killed, citing policy to withhold names until 24 hours after the next of kin are notified.

The four troops wounded in Friday’s attack were medically evacuated to hospitals inside Jordan, CENTCOM said, and have since been discharged. An unspecified number of other personnel were screened for minor injuries.

Since the fighting restarted last week, Iran has targeted U.S. troops in bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and other nations, primarily in the Persian Gulf. 

Friday’s deaths bring the number of American service members killed in the war to 16. 13 troops died in the first weeks of fighting in March. Six were killed in an attack on Kuwait, while a soldier died from wounds sustained days earlier in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Six airmen were killed in a KC-135 crash over Iraq. That death toll rose this month when the commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. More than 400 troops have been wounded.

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