Washington, 29 January 2024 (dpa) - Three US soldiers were killed and many more wounded in a drone attack in north-eastern Jordan, near the border with Syria, said US President Joe Biden, who pinned the blame on Iran-backed groups.

The deaths were the first fatalities of US troops in the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in early October.

Biden said the United States would "hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing" as he paid tribute to "the loss of these warriors in this despicable and wholly unjust attack."

In a statement, the president held "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq" as being responsible for the attack, without providing further details.

The US military's regional command, CENTCOM, put the number of injured soliders in Sunday's attack at more than two dozen.

US media, citing government sources, said the incident took place at at Tower 22, located right on border with south-eastern Syria.

Violence has flared across the Middle East in the wake of the stunning attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, which triggered an ongoing Israeli air and ground war that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

Fears have grown about the possibility of a regional conflagration amid attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping and nearly daily rounds of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

In recent weeks, pro-Iranian militias have intensified their attacks on US military bases in Iraq and neighbouring Syria in response to the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip. These attacks on US troops left dozens of people with injuries, the majority of them minor.

A week ago the US blamed Iranian-backed militants for a missile and rocket attack on US personnel at the Ain al-Assad military base in Iraq. The assault injured several people on that base.

The US has retaliated by carrying out multiple airstrikes against Iran-affiliated groups in Iran and Syria.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was "outraged and deeply saddened" by the deaths.

"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."

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Iran to "de-escalate."

"We strongly condemn attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups against US forces," Cameron said on social media platform X. "We continue to urge Iran to de-escalate in the region."

Photo: MIA archive