From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 2, 2024
Biden on hand as remains of troops killed in Iran-backed drone attack returned to US
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DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Delaware — US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden join grieving families at Dover Air Force Base on a gray, chilly day to honor the three American service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan.
The Bidens met privately with the families before the roughly 15-minute solemn ritual, called a dignified transfer, that has become relatively uncommon in recent years as the US has withdrawn from conflicts abroad.
Biden holds his hand over his heart as he watches members of the Army carry team transfer the cases holding the remains of the fallen soldiers from a C-5 Galaxy military transport aircraft to a waiting vehicle.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are among the Defense Department and administration officials who joined the Bidens for the proceedings.
The service members killed Sunday were all from Georgia — Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Sgt. Kennedy Sanders of Waycross and Sgt. Breonna Moffett of Savannah. Sanders and Moffett were posthumously promoted to sergeant rank.
The deaths were the first US fatalities blamed on Iran-backed militia groups, who for months have been intensifying their attacks on American forces in the region following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Separately, two Navy SEALs died during a January mission to board an unflagged ship that was carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen.
The Times of Israel Community.