IRAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN DRONE ATTACK THAT KILLED THREE AMERICAN TROOPS

 Iran denies it was involved in the drone attack which killed three US troops and injured 34 on a US base in Jordan, near the Syria border. US President Joe Biden said the attack had been carried out by Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq

1. "We shall respond," he said at a campaign event in South Carolina on Sunday
2. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, has called the accusations "baseless" and says they are part of a "conspiracy... to drag America into the conflict"
3. It is the first time US soldiers have been killed by strikes in the region after Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza
4. US media report the attack was on Tower 22, in north-east Jordan
5. It has sparked fears of an escalation in the conflict in the region.

6. Why there are US bases in the Middle East

   Raffi Berg

   Digital Middle East editor

   

   Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

   The base which was hit in a deadly drone attack in a north-west corner of Jordan is one of more than a dozen where US military personnel operate across Iraq, Jordan and Syria.

   In recent months, these bases - ranging in size from a military outpost such as Tower 22 which was hit in Jordan, to the Al Asad air base in western Iraq - have been attacked by militias trained, funded and equipped by Iran.

   There are about 3,000 US troops based in Jordan, a key US ally, and 2,500 in Iraq - there at the invitation of the Iraqi government as part of a US-led coalition to prevent a resurgence of the jihadist Islamic State group, which still has a presence there after being routed in 2017.

   There are also about 900 US personnel in Syria, officially there to support its anti-IS ally the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria's semi-autonomous north-east region. The Syria government opposes the US presence in its country, calling it an occupation.

   The US also maintains many more bases further afield across the Middle East, including three major air bases in the Gulf and a port in Bahrain which serves as the headquarters of the US Naval Forces Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet.

7. Iran state media say several dead in Syria strikes

   Iranian state media is reporting that several people have died and more are injured after strikes on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria.

   Reports suggest the attack hit an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps site.

   An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the explosions, when asked by the Reuters news agency.

   We'll bring you more information as it comes to light.

8. FULL REPORT AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-68126368

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