Specialist Kennedy Sanders of Waycross, Georgia, was one of the three killed. On Monday, flags within the city of Waycross are being flown at half-staff.
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Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria. President Joe Biden called Sanders, 24, and the two others who died in the attack “patriots in the highest sense.”
Biden, who was traveling in South Carolina, asked for a moment of silence during an appearance at a Baptist church’s banquet hall.
“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases,” he said. After the moment of silence, Biden added, “and we shall respond.”
President Biden bows his head in a moment of silence for the three American troops killed Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in a drone strike in northeast Jordan, while speaking at the "Sunday Lunch" event at the Brookland Baptist Banquet Center, part of the Brookland Baptist Church, in West Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Biden said in a written statement that the United States “will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing.”
The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, but this is the first time U.S. service members have been killed.
Specialist Kennedy Sanders of Waycross, Ga., with her father. Sanders died in a drone attack in Jordan (Family of Kennedy Sanders)Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, one of three soldiers killed in a drone attack in Jordan. (Family of Kennedy Sanders)This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a military base known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, on Oct. 12, 2023. Three American troops were killed and "many" were wounded Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in a drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden said. He blamed Iran-backed militia groups for the first U.S. fatalities after months of strikes against American forces across the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war. U.S. officials identified Tower 22 as the site of the attack. (Planet Labs PBC via AP) (Planet Labs PBC)
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