The corpses of three American troops slain in Jordan in an attack by an Iranian-made drone landed in the US on Friday, with US President Joe Biden serving as a witness.
Sergeant William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, were the three Army Reserve troops who lost their lives on Sunday.
Biden attended Dignified Transfer
Biden attended what the U.S. Air Force refers to as a “dignified transfer” of remains with the families of those slain at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. For each American service member who loses their life while serving overseas, a respectful transfer is carried out.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, who was also posthumously promoted to sergeant, was the three reserve soldiers who were transferred on Friday.
Following a private meeting with family members, the president covered his heart while the transfer cases covered in flags were taken off of the plane one by one. He had earlier called the families on Tuesday to offer his sympathies.
As a prayer for the slain was being recited, Biden, wearing a long, black coat and bearing a solemn face, arrived and lowered his head.
As the families and the presidential entourage looked on, a crew of seven service members moved the cases with mournful precision from the plane’s open bay to a dimly lit mortuary vehicle.
More than forty people were injured in the drone strike on the American stronghold in Jordan known as Tower 22 by terrorists backed by Iran. Fears of a wider battle in the Middle East, where the Israel-Hamas conflict is on the verge of explosion, were aroused by this.
What Biden Stated?
On Tuesday, Biden declared that he had decided how to react to the incident in Jordan. Although it hasn’t been known when they would occur, retaliation attacks have been expected.
It seemed unlikely that an attack would enter Iranian territory after the White House declared that Biden is opposed to conflict with Iran.
Four U.S. officials told Reuters that the United States has determined that Iran produced the drone that was used in the assault.
“They risked it all,” said Vice President Joe Biden of the troops on Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill. “We’ll never forget the sacrifice and service to our country that the dozens of service members who were wounded in recovery now.”
Since taking office, Biden has participated in two honorable transfers. During the United States’ exit from Afghanistan in 2021, he was there in the transport of the remains of thirteen service soldiers who were murdered in a terrorist assault outside an airport in Kabul.
Iran claimed its involvement in the attack on Jordan
Foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani was reported by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency as stating, “These claims are made with specific political goals to reverse the realities of the region.” Iran consistently refutes any role in assaults traced to it by the militias it supplies around the Middle East Jordan.
Reports say efforts are still underway by US officials to identify the extremist organization responsible for the attack.
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