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According to US officials, the pro-Iranian drone strike that killed three people on the Syrian-Jordanian border on Sunday, January 29, was the result of a mix-up. The unmanned aircraft may have been mistaken for an American.
US forces may have mistaken the drone that killed three of their soldiers and wounded around thirty others on Sunday for an American aircraft, according to officials.
According to one of these officials, the drone, launched by a pro-Iranian armed group, appears to have penetrated US defenses partly by chance, approaching the base just as another, American, was returning from a mission.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/221430"]
The return of the American drone would thus have led to some confusion as to whether the incoming drone was friendly or enemy, officials concluded, while noting that the investigation into the attack was still in its early stages.
The initial confusion seems to have caused sufficient delay to allow the drone to pass through and strike the barracks in the early hours of the morning, at a time when many American soldiers were still present.
Handout satellite picture released on January 29, 2024 by Planet Labs PBC showing a view of Tower 22 base, near Jordan's border with Iraq and Syria in the northeastern Rwaished District. (Planet Labs, AFP)
However, it is not clear whether the enemy drone intentionally followed the US drone or whether it was a coincidence, said one of the officials. US authorities are also assessing the point of origin of the enemy drone.
"We know this is a militia supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, told reporters on Monday. "It has the same characteristics as Kataëb Hezbollah, one of Iran's largest and most powerful proxy organizations based in Iraq," she added.
Most of these attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a nebulous group of fighters drawn from pro-Iranian armed groups. It claims to act in support of the Palestinians and is calling for the departure of US soldiers deployed in Iraq. According to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War, Kataëb Hezbollah is a member of this group.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/221636"]
Tehran, for its part, denied any involvement in Sunday's attack, and warned against regional escalation. "We're at a turning point," says Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington.
"This is what many of us, I think, feared, that no doubt the administration feared, that US allies, whether Arab or otherwise, feared: that Iran would miscalculate, make a mistake like this and force the US to retaliate at a much higher level," Gordon Gray tells AFP.
US officials keep repeating that they don't want escalation, and still hope to contain a conflict that threatens to spread.
"We are not seeking war with Iran," insisted White House spokesman John Kirby on Monday.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/221732"]
The American president, who is running for a second term, now finds himself having to choose between continuing to attempt a policy of deterrence or, on the contrary, striking hard at the risk of escalation. Several Republican leaders, including Donald Trump, have already criticized the Democratic president's action, calling for a firm response.
Gordon Gray believes that the United States may wish to retaliate by targeting "a military target or the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution inside Iran itself."
With AFP
US forces may have mistaken the drone that killed three of their soldiers and wounded around thirty others on Sunday for an American aircraft, according to officials.
According to one of these officials, the drone, launched by a pro-Iranian armed group, appears to have penetrated US defenses partly by chance, approaching the base just as another, American, was returning from a mission.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/israel-hamaswar/221430"]
Confusion
The return of the American drone would thus have led to some confusion as to whether the incoming drone was friendly or enemy, officials concluded, while noting that the investigation into the attack was still in its early stages.
The initial confusion seems to have caused sufficient delay to allow the drone to pass through and strike the barracks in the early hours of the morning, at a time when many American soldiers were still present.
Handout satellite picture released on January 29, 2024 by Planet Labs PBC showing a view of Tower 22 base, near Jordan's border with Iraq and Syria in the northeastern Rwaished District. (Planet Labs, AFP)However, it is not clear whether the enemy drone intentionally followed the US drone or whether it was a coincidence, said one of the officials. US authorities are also assessing the point of origin of the enemy drone.
Washington Blames Tehran
"We know this is a militia supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, told reporters on Monday. "It has the same characteristics as Kataëb Hezbollah, one of Iran's largest and most powerful proxy organizations based in Iraq," she added.
Most of these attacks were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a nebulous group of fighters drawn from pro-Iranian armed groups. It claims to act in support of the Palestinians and is calling for the departure of US soldiers deployed in Iraq. According to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War, Kataëb Hezbollah is a member of this group.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/221636"]
Tehran, for its part, denied any involvement in Sunday's attack, and warned against regional escalation. "We're at a turning point," says Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Biden Politically Stuck
"This is what many of us, I think, feared, that no doubt the administration feared, that US allies, whether Arab or otherwise, feared: that Iran would miscalculate, make a mistake like this and force the US to retaliate at a much higher level," Gordon Gray tells AFP.
US officials keep repeating that they don't want escalation, and still hope to contain a conflict that threatens to spread.
"We are not seeking war with Iran," insisted White House spokesman John Kirby on Monday.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/221732"]
The American president, who is running for a second term, now finds himself having to choose between continuing to attempt a policy of deterrence or, on the contrary, striking hard at the risk of escalation. Several Republican leaders, including Donald Trump, have already criticized the Democratic president's action, calling for a firm response.
Gordon Gray believes that the United States may wish to retaliate by targeting "a military target or the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution inside Iran itself."
With AFP
This Is Beirut
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