AMMAN - Jordan has condemned the “terrorist attack” on a military advance post just inside its border with Syria that killed three United States military members and injured dozens on Jan 28.

It is the first time American military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, following the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on Oct 7.

Jordanian government spokesman Muhannad Al Mubaidin expressed condolences to the US and said the attack “did not result in any casualties among officers of the Jordan Armed Forces”.

In the first official statement on the attack, staunch US ally Jordan said it was working with Washington to fight terrorism. Earlier, a government spokesperson had said the attack was on a US base in Syria adjacent to the border but not on Jordanian soil.

The attack also drew condemnation from Egypt, Iraq and Israel.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Egypt emphasised the necessity of confronting all forms of terrorism and rejecting all manifestations of violence to ensure the stability of the region.”

Iraq also called for an “end to the cycle of violence” in the Middle East.

“The Iraqi government condemns the ongoing escalation,” government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement, adding that it was willing “to collaborate on establishing fundamental rules to prevent further repercussions in the region and curb the escalation of conflict”.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: “We stand united in our values and battle against a common enemy. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. Rest in peace. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.”

The US military said the attack occurred at a base in north-eastern Jordan, near the Syrian border. It did not name the base, but a person familiar with the matter identified it as Tower 22 in Jordan.

A senior Jordanian security source told Reuters that Jordan had recently appealed for more advanced US defence hardware and support because of worries Iran and its proxies could become embroiled more deeply in any wider Middle East conflagration.

Jordan recently alerted Washington to the urgent need to bolster its defences against Iranian-backed militias building up their strength on Jordan’s borders with Iraq and Syria, the official said.

There has been growing concern within the Jordanian military and security establishment that Iranian militias, who now hold sway in southern Syria, were exploiting the Gaza war to achieve a security breakthrough.

Iran’s influence in Syria has expanded since Teheran’s allies, including Lebanese group Hezbollah, helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad quell a rebellion that erupted in 2011.

Iranian-backed militias hold sway on Syria’s southern border with Jordan, and Amman blames them and Iran for running a drug smuggling business.

Some Jordanian officials say that pro-Iranian militias in both Iraq and Syria, which have been escalating attacks on US bases in the area since the Israel-Hamas war, are also using the drug war to pile pressure on Jordan, a US ally which hosts hundreds of American troops.

Jordan had requested Patriot air defence systems from Washington as part of its growing concern about being caught in the crossfire if the war in Gaza pulls in Iran and its well-armed regional militias on the kingdom’s borders.

The presence of US troops in Jordan is a sensitive matter in a country where anti-US sentiment runs high because of Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Jordan’s government signed a defence deal with the US in January 2021, offering US forces “unimpeded access” to several Jordanian military facilities, storage sites for pre-positioning equipment, and other installations. REUTERS, AFP