A drone struck a military outpost in Jordan known as Tower 22 on Sunday, killing three US troops and injuring dozens. Here’s what we know about the base.
Where is Tower 22 located?
Tower 22 is strategically located in Jordan, at the far northeastern point where the country’s borders meet Syria and Iraq.
What is the purpose of Tower 22?
The base is relatively unknown to the general public. However, it is near the Al Tanf garrison, which is located across the border in Syria and houses a small number of US troops. Tanf played an important role in the fight against the Islamic State and is now part of a US strategy to contain Iran’s military buildup in eastern Syria. Tower is close enough to US troops in Tanf to potentially assist them while also countering Iran-backed militants in the area and allowing troops to keep an eye on Islamic State remnants in the region.
Jordan’s army is one of the largest recipients of Washington’s foreign military aid.
The kingdom employs hundreds of US trainers and is one of the few regional allies to conduct extensive exercises with US troops throughout the year.
Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to assist Jordan in establishing an elaborate surveillance system known as the Border Security Program to prevent infiltration by militants from Syria and Iraq.
It is unclear how many US troops are stationed at Tower 22. It is also unclear what weapons were kept, what air defenses were used, and what went wrong.