Navy warship shoots down Houthi attack drone
Washington. The attack in Jordan is believed to be the first time US personnel have been killed in combat since 13 died in a suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport in August 2021.
Last night, Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “We strongly condemn attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups against US forces.
“We continue to urge Iran to de-escalate in the region. Our thoughts are with those US personnel.”
Meanwhile, US congressmen have called on Mr Biden to take direct action against Iran. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, urged the Biden administration to “hit Iran now, hard” adding: “The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price, the attacks on US troops will continue.”
Dan Sullivan, another senator, said the attack “shows the dangers of the Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran” and called for “a clear, lethal and overwhelming response”.
Wesley Clark, a former US general and Nato commander, said: “The US should stop saying, ‘we don’t want to escalate’. This invites them to attack us. Stop calling our strikes ‘retaliation’. This is reactive. Take out their capabilities and strike hard at the source: Iran.”
While the US insisted the drone attack occurred on Jordanian soil, the Jordanian government claimed the blast occurred over the Syrian border.
Tower 22, a small outpost in north Jordan, is close to the US Al-tanf base in south-eastern Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it also hit the US bases of Shadadi and Rukban in Syria.
The group is an umbrella organisation of pro-iran militias that sprang up after Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza started in October.
It includes Harakat Hezbollah al-nujaba, one of the most powerful pro-iran militias in Iraq, believed to be responsible for many of the recent attacks against US forces.
A senior official with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, directly tied the attack to Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
“The killing of three American soldiers is a message to the US administration that unless the killing of innocents in Gaza stops, it must confront the entire nation,” he told Reuters.
Typically around 3,000 US troops are based in Jordan, which is a base point for troops and special forces operating in Iraq and Syria.
Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, meanwhile, said that the UK was “undaunted” by the Houthi drone attack against the HMS Diamond, which is stationed in the Red Sea.
The warship, which is protecting merchant shipping, has been targeted three times by the terrorist group.
There were no injuries to the crew and the destroyer was undamaged after Saturday’s unsuccessful assault by the Iran-backed rebels.
Mr Shapps said the UK “will not hesitate to take action if we need to defend ourselves and innocent merchant sailors. This was another direct attack on our Royal Navy and on the freedom of navigation that we hold dear as an island nation”. He added: “HMS Diamond’s value in the coalition operation to protect vessels in the Red Sea is unquestionable. She is crucial in the fight to protect innocent lives and keep maritime waters open.”
The MOD said the HMS Diamond had shot down and destroyed the Yemeni group’s drone using its Sea Viper missile-defence system.
“These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” it said in a statement. The assault was the third incident of its kind since mid-december with the vessel also targeted on Dec 16 and Jan 10.