Iran denies involvement in drone strike that killed three US troops

ran has denied involvement in a drone attack on a US base near Jordan’s border with Syria that killed three US troops. The US blamed the attack on “radical Iranian-backed militant groups” which also left dozens injured.

US President Biden vowed revenge and said: “We shall respond.” It is the first time that a strike has killed US troops in the region since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel. There have been other attacks on US bases in the region, but before Sunday there were no fatalities, according to the US military.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed it was behind that attack. The umbrella group emerged in late 2023 and is comprised of several Iran-affiliated militias operating in Iraq. It has claimed other attacks against US forces in recent weeks.

In a statement, the group said it had targeted three US bases in Syria – Shaddadi, Rukban and Tanf, as well as an Israeli oil facility in the Mediterranean.

Mr Biden said the US “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing”. Iran denied US and British accusations that it supported militant groups blamed for the strike.

“These claims are made with specific political goals to reverse the realities of the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, according to Tehran’s official IRNA news agency.

The names of the servicemen killed and injured have not yet been released as officials work to notify their families.

Source: BBC NEWS