Pentagon names troops killed in Jordan drone attack

The Pentagon on Monday identified the three Army soldiers who were killed in a suicide drone attack in Jordan over the weekend.

All three soldiers served in the Army Reserve, according to the Pentagon, and were assigned to Georgia’s Fort Moore.

The soldiers are: Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) mourned the loss of all three soldiers Monday.

“These soldiers gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country. This inexcusable loss of life and the attack from terrorists that resulted in these casualties is a reminder of why we stand with the friends of liberty,” Kemp said in a statement.

“The entire Kemp family asks that Georgians everywhere join us in keeping the loved ones of those lost in this attack in our thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.”

President Biden also extended his condolences to the families of the service members in a statement Sunday, saying the soldiers “embodied the very best of our nation” and “were patriots in the highest sense.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed “outrage and sorrow” at the deaths of “three brave U.S. troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded” in the attack.

“The president and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops,” Austin vowed during an appearance Monday.

Iranian-backed militia groups attacked Tower 22, a U.S. base in Jordan, in the early morning hours on Sunday with a suicide drone, which struck housing units. Another roughly 40 soldiers were injured, according to the Pentagon.

Several media reports suggest the U.S. mistook the suicide drone for a friendly one set to return at that time, but the Pentagon has so far declined to officially explain what happened. The incident is under investigation.

The attack has the “footprints” of an Iran-backed group in Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah, according to Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh. She said the U.S. has not made a final determination.

Shortly after the attack, Biden vowed to respond. Iran-backed groups have battled U.S. forces across the Middle East since the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war.

As of Monday, Iran-backed groups have attacked U.S. troops more than 160 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, while the Tehran-supported Houthis have launched more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels and American naval ships in the Red Sea.

Updated at 3:49 p.m. ET