Iranian-backed militants kill 3 U.S. service members, injure 25 in Jordan

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A drone attack killed three U.S. service members and injured 25 in Jordan near the Syrian border Sunday, according to a U.S. Central Command news release. President Biden called the three service members “patriots in the highest sense.” Here’s what to know The names of the slain service members were withheld pending notification of family members. The attack may further inflame tensions have been rising in the region since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. The United Nations warned that urgent humanitarian work by its agency for Palestinian refugees is under threat after several countries, including the United States, suspended funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the wake of Israel’s allegations that some of its staff members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said that of the 12 UNRWA staff members allegedly involved in the Hamas attack, nine were immediately fired, while one person had died and the identities of two others were being determined. CIA Director William J. Burns is expected to meet Sunday with the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister in Paris as part of negotiations for a two-month cease-fire. Burns is expected to help broker a deal between Hamas and Israel that would involve the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza and the longest cessation of hostilities since the war began, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. The United States and Iraq held initial talks to wind down the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said. The talks are expected to lead to a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, he said. About 2,500 U.S. troops are in Iraq and 900 are in Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not withdraw a “single word” of his criticism of Qatar. Last week, Qatar’s leaders responded angrily after a recording was released purportedly of Netanyahu saying Qatar failed to use its leverage with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli hostages. At least 26,422 people have been killed and 65,087 injured in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

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