The Pentagon identified the deceased as Sgt. William Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Sanders, and Spc. Breonna Moffett, all of whom were assigned to the 18th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia.
Sgt. Rivers, 46, hailed from Carrollton, Ga., while Spc. Sanders, 24, and Spc. Moffett, 23, were from Waycross, Ga., and Savannah, Ga., respectively. The trio met their untimely demise when a suicide drone, launched by an Iranian-backed militant group, detonated near their living quarters at the Tower 22 base near the Syrian border. This incident marks the first fatalities in a series of attacks on U.S. troops in recent months.
The Pentagon's statement read, "They died Jan. 28, 2024, in Jordan, when a one-way unmanned aerial system impacted their container housing units. The incident is under investigation." Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh, during a briefing on Monday, described the attack as "escalatory," resulting in the death of three service members. She refuted the notion that the conflict between Israel and Hamas has escalated, arguing that most of the over 160 attacks have caused minor injuries and damage to facilities.
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Following the attack, eight troops were medically evacuated, with three slated to receive care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at a U.S. Army post in Germany. At least 40 of the 350 troops deployed to the clandestine Tower 22 base in Jordan have reported injuries.
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A U.S. official informed The New York Times that an explosive-laden drone crashed near the base's living quarters, causing injuries ranging from minor cuts to brain trauma. Most of the affected troops were reservists.
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Singh refrained from confirming reports that the enemy drone hid behind a U.S. drone returning to the base at the time of the attack. She stated that Sunday's attack did not differ from other Iran-backed attacks in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17, and the Pentagon could not rule out the possibility that not all attacks are intended to kill U.S. troops.
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Expressing her condolences, Singh said, "It is a true tragedy that three of our service members died." She added that CENTCOM is investigating the incident and exploring ways to improve air defenses. "It has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah, but we're not making a final assessment on that. Our teams here are continuing to do the analysis, but we know that Iran is behind it… Iran continues to arm and equip these groups to launch these attacks," she said.
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The City of Waycross mourned the loss of Army Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, lowering flags to half-mast in her honor. The city expressed its deep sadness in a Facebook post, offering heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.
Family member Shawn Sanders also took to Facebook to express his gratitude for the respect shown to Kennedy, affectionately known as "Munchkin." He wrote, "Our family would like to thank you for the respect given to Kennedy. Munchkin will be missed by many." The tragic incident underscores the ongoing risks faced by U.S. service members stationed abroad, even as investigations continue to unravel the full circumstances surrounding the attack.
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