US defense secretary vows response to Iran-linked attack against troops in Jordan

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin blames “Iran-backed militias” for repeated attacks on US forces, pledging “we will respond at a time and place of our choosing.”

“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our US service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against US and Coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS,” he says in a statement from the Defense Department.

“These brave Americans and their families are in my prayers, and the entire Department of Defense mourns their loss.”

“The President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops and our interests.”