Some US senators are calling for direct strikes on Iran in response to the killing of three American troops in a drone attack in Jordan near the Syrian border.
Three US Army soldiers were killed and at least two dozen service members were injured in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials told CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.
The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria
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President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to hold those responsible for the attack “to account,” saying that while facts are still being gathered, “We know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
As of Friday, there had been more than 158 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, though officials have described the constant volley of drones, rockets, and missiles as unsuccessful as they have frequently not caused serious injury or damage to infrastructure.
It’s unclear why air defenses failed to intercept the drone, which appears to be the first known attack on Tower 22 since attacks on US and coalition forces began on October 17. US forces at the outpost are there as part of an advise-and-assist mission with Jordan.
CENTCOM says a ‘number’ of US personnel are being examined for traumatic brain injuries, and one Iraqi soldier was wounded
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According to the Pentagon, US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under attack 140 times since mid-October. The US has launched several rounds of airstrikes in both countries in response, including a drone strike in Baghdad that killed a deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of Iraqi militias that’s part of Iraq’s security forces.
Two U.S. sailors who the Central Command (CENTCOM) announced they went missing off the coast of Somalia on January 11 were members of the Navy’s elite SEALs unit, U.S. officials revealed.
The US is quietly providing intelligence to Israel for targeting purposes in Gaza, deploying US Air Force “intelligence engagement officers on the ground,” according to a deployment order obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and published at the Intercept.
BREAKING Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Iranian-backed militants fired a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones at a U.S. flagged ship manned by US Merchant Marine sailors who were “providing support” to Israel. No update yet from the head of the US Merchant Marine, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
What is clear is that the US military has repeatedly warned ship owners and officers against sharing information with journalists, Wall Street analysts, and supply chain experts. While journalists and supply chains may be under-reporting the issue, ship owners are sharing more alarming stories among themselves. This information asymmetry could lead to more ships avoiding the region, while freight forwarders, cargo brokers, and other professionals further down the supply chain may be unprepared for the full extent of the delays.
In the weeks to come, we will see the situation between the Houthi, international shipping, and the world’s navies further develop. The goal of Operation Prosperity Guardian is to ensure the prosperity of the world by ensuring the free flow of goods and ships through the international waterways off the coast of Yemen. If the main beneficiary of the operation is one of the largest shipping corporations in the world, then there is a question of whose prosperity is Operation Prosperity Guardian truly guarding?
Update on Israeli military operations in Gaza for November 15, 2023…
– Israeli forces have stormed Gaza’s largest hospital, claiming Hamas fighters are hiding in/beneath the facility;
– Israeli tactics appear to deliberately maximize regional and international outrage;
– The violence is aimed at pressuring regional governments to take action and trigger a series of conflicts that allow the US to reassert a previous conflict-based “security architecture” on the region;
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