WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The unmanned aerial drone attack that killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens in northeastern Jordan on Sunday is the latest by Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria.
The groups oppose Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 26,000, and hold the U.S. partly responsible. They have attacked U.S. troops in the region over 150 times since the war started in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel that killed about 1,200. About 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq and 900 in Syria to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State militants.
Here is a timeline of major attacks since then:
OCT. 18 – U.S. forces in Iraq are targeted in two separate drone attacks. One of the drones is intercepted but still explodes, causing minor injuries and damaging some equipment.
OCT. 19 – U.S. forces in Syria bring down two drones targeting them, leading to some minor injuries. Separately, drones and rockets target two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq.
OCT. 26 – An Iran-backed militia launches a drone at an air base that penetrates U.S. air defenses and crashes into the barracks housing American troops but fails to detonate. A service member suffers a concussion from the impact.
NOV. 17 – U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria are attacked three times; a drone attack in Syria injures a service member who quickly returns to duty while two other attacks in Iraq fail to cause damage or injuries.
NOV. 23 – U.S. and international forces in northeastern Syria are attacked with drones and rockets four times in 24 hours, but suffer no casualties and only minor damage.
DEC. 25 – A one-way drone attack in Iraq by Iran-aligned militants leaves one U.S. service member in critical condition and wounds two other U.S. personnel.
JAN. 9 – A U.S. air strike on a rocket launcher foils an attack on an air base in Iraq.
JAN. 20 – Four U.S. personnel suffer traumatic brain injuries after Iran-backed militias fire multiple ballistic missiles and rockets at an air base in Iraq.
(Compiled by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Diane Craft)
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