WASHINGTON, United States: United States President Joe Biden said yesterday (January 31) that he is not seeking to expand the conflict in the Middle East as he prepares to respond to a drone attack that killed three American troops in Jordan last weekend, reported the Anadolu news agency.
"I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I am looking for," Biden told reporters at the White House as he prepared to depart for two campaign events in the state of Florida.
Sunday's suicide drone attack killed three American troops and injured at least 34 others at Tower 22, a remote military installation in Jordan near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. A group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility.
The organisation has been carrying out drone and missile attacks on US forces in the region for months amid Israel's ongoing war against the besieged Gaza Strip.
Sunday's fatalities were the first to have resulted from the attacks. Most others were intercepted or resulted in minor injuries to American forces.
The Pentagon identified the deceased as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett. All were killed when a suicide drone hit their housing unit.
The Biden administration has yet to determine which specific group within the wider organisation was responsible for Sunday's attack, but it is continuing to investigate.
Biden said in response to a reporter's question that he holds Iran responsible for the fatal drone attack "in the sense that they're supplying weapons to the people who did it."
The president vowed to retaliate and said yesterday he will decide how he will respond. He did not offer specifics and it is unclear what form the US action will take. The White House declined to rule out strikes on Iran proper, saying it would not "telegraph punches."
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that it is "very possible" that the US retaliation would not be limited to a single strike and could take place over an extended period. — Bernama