Training by American and Jordanian forces northeast of Amman (Reuters - Archive)

The Pentagon announced on Monday that the number of American soldiers injured in the Jordan attack had risen to more than 40 - in addition to the killing of 3 soldiers - while President Joe Biden pledged to hold those responsible for the attack accountable.

The Pentagon said that the attack carried out by a drone targeting American forces at the “Tower 22” base in northeastern Jordan on Sunday bore the fingerprints of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades.

He added that he was evaluating how the drone was able to penetrate the security procedures of the American base.

Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, “Groups linked to Iran were most likely the ones who carried out the attack,” stressing that the response “will be at the appropriate time and we are awaiting the president’s decision.”

For his part, the US President - who met twice with his national security team to discuss the response to the attack - said that his country will hold all those responsible for the Jordan attack accountable "at the time we choose and in the manner we determine."

Likewise, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that the United States will respond “firmly to every attack on our forces at the time and place we choose.”

He added in a press conference in Washington, "We are very clear in our warning to anyone who seeks to benefit from the conflict in the Middle East and tries to expand it."

American forces in the Middle East are being subjected to escalating attacks with missiles and drones against the backdrop of the United States’ support for Israel in its war on Gaza.

The Jordan attack is the first targeting that has left American forces dead since the start of the war on Gaza last October, and Western reports have described it as a dangerous regional escalation.

New attack

Meanwhile, the New York Times quoted American officials as saying that two other drones that attacked sites close to the American base in Jordan were shot down.

At the same time, the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" said that it had targeted the American Al-Shaddadi base in northeastern Syria with missiles for the second time within 24 hours, and an American official confirmed that the attack had occurred.

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying that confronting the drone attack in Jordan failed, because it approached simultaneously with the return of an American drone to the base.

American forces in Iraq and Syria have been subjected to 165 attacks - including the attack in northeastern Jordan - since last October 17, according to what the Pentagon announced Monday.

For his part, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington "does not seek war with Iran," without confirming or denying whether the Biden administration intends to strike Iranian territory.

Kirby added - in his statements on Monday - that the attack “constituted an escalation, and make no mistake about that, and it requires a response.”

In the same context, a spokesman for the British Prime Minister said that London believes that armed groups supported by Iran were the ones who carried out the attack on American forces in Jordan, stressing that his government will stand with its American allies.

The spokesman added that London continues to use all its diplomatic capabilities to calm tensions in the Middle East region.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies