CARROLLTON, Georgia – The Pentagon has released the names of three American service members who were killed in a drone attack in northeast Jordan. The attack took place on Sunday, when an unmanned aerial system impacted their housing units. The Department of Defense identified the casualties as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.
According to Pentagon deputy press Secretary Sabrina Singh, the attack differs from previous incidents due to its location and timing. Singh revealed that the drone strike occurred in living quarters during the early morning hours. She stated that “people were actually in their beds when the drone impacted.”
Singh also attributed the attack to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed militia, specifically citing Kataib Hezbollah. However, she noted that a final assessment has not been made, and the investigation is ongoing. She also emphasized that U.S. forces would retaliate at a time and place of their choosing.
The outpost targeted in the attack, known as Tower 22, houses approximately 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel. At least 34 individuals were initially reported injured, but the number has since risen to over 40, according to Singh. Eight wounded service members have been evacuated, with some in critical condition but now in stable condition.
This drone attack is considered the deadliest assault on U.S. service members since the suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The investigation into the incident continues, and the Pentagon has not released further details.
Contributors to this report include Kaia Hubbard, Stefan Becket, Margaret Brennan, David Martin, Nancy Cordes, and Christina Ruffini.
[Eleanor Watson is a CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon.]
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CARROLLTON, Georgia – The Pentagon has released the names of three American service members who were killed in a drone attack in northeast Jordan. The attack took place on Sunday, when an unmanned aerial system impacted their housing units. The Department of Defense identified the casualties as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.
According to Pentagon deputy press Secretary Sabrina Singh, the attack differs from previous incidents due to its location and timing. Singh revealed that the drone strike occurred in living quarters during the early morning hours. She stated that “people were actually in their beds when the drone impacted.”
Singh also attributed the attack to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed militia, specifically citing Kataib Hezbollah. However, she noted that a final assessment has not been made, and the investigation is ongoing. She also emphasized that U.S. forces would retaliate at a time and place of their choosing.
The outpost targeted in the attack, known as Tower 22, houses approximately 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel. At least 34 individuals were initially reported injured, but the number has since risen to over 40, according to Singh. Eight wounded service members have been evacuated, with some in critical condition but now in stable condition.
This drone attack is considered the deadliest assault on U.S. service members since the suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The investigation into the incident continues, and the Pentagon has not released further details.
Contributors to this report include Kaia Hubbard, Stefan Becket, Margaret Brennan, David Martin, Nancy Cordes, and Christina Ruffini.