Arizona National Guard: Dozens of members wounded in deadly Jordan drone attack

PHOENIX — The Arizona National Guard confirmed Tuesday that dozens of its members were wounded in action in a deadly drone attack in Jordan over the weekend.

A majority of the 40-plus U.S. National Guard members injured in the attack were from the Arizona branch, according to the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

Injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to traumatic brain injuries. Thirty-four injured members have already returned to service, according to Capt. Erin Hannigan, an Arizona National Guard spokesperson, said.

Three wounded Arizonans were airlifted from the Tower 22 base, and one was evacuated to Germany in stable condition for additional treatment.

“We ask that our Arizona family continues to keep everyone in their thoughts and prayers,” Hannigan said.

The attack Sunday killed three Americans at Tower 22 in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border.

The Pentagon identified those killed in the attack as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The Army Reserve announced on Tuesday that it had posthumously promoted Sanders and Moffett to the rank of sergeant.

There have been a total of 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, a U.S. military official said.

On Tuesday, Al-Asad Air Base in Western Iraq was targeted again by a single rocket, but there was no damage and no injuries in that attack, a U.S. military official said.

The three soldiers killed in the Jordan strike were the first U.S. military fatalities in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.

One contractor has also died as the result of a heart attack after a strike on Al-Asad in December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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