Low-flying drone likely undetected in Jordan attack on U.S. troops

Shafaq News/ The drone that killed three U.S. troops at a base in Jordan late last month likely went undetected due to its low flight path, according to a report by The Washington Post citing a U.S. defense official with direct knowledge of the assessment.

The official revealed that the Tower 22 base, where the attack happened, reportedly lacks large air defense systems capable of downing aerial threats, explaining that the base was said to possess only electronic warfare systems designed to disable or disrupt the flight of drones and missiles.

The Washington Post's findings appear to challenge earlier reports suggesting that the drone was mistaken for an American one returning to the base, allowing it to pass unchallenged through defenses and hit a troop barracks.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, when asked about the report, stated that CENTCOM is still in the midst of its review on the deadly attack and could not comment until it was finished.

She also refrained from disclosing how many bases in the Middle East housing U.S. troops lack air defense systems capable of shooting down attack drones, citing operational security.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of the pro-Iranian groups in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the Jordan attack.

The attack on Tower 22 marked the first time Iran-backed forces in Syria and Iraq have killed U.S. service members since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

The "Iranian proxies" have attacked American positions in the Middle East 168 times as of Tuesday, according to Singh.