The Pentagon has confirmed the identities of three Georgia soldiers who lost their lives in Sunday’s drone strike in Jordan. The US attributes the attack to an Iranian-backed militia, with a stronghold in Iraq.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, aged 46, from Carrollton, GA; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, aged 24, hailing from Waycross, GA; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, aged 23, from Savannah, GA, were tragically killed in a drone attack. They were dedicated members of the 718th Engineer Company, the 926th Engineer Battalion, and the 926th Engineer Brigade, stationed at Fort Moore in Georgia.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday said, “These soldiers gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country…The entire Kemp family asks that Georgians everywhere join us in keeping the loved ones of those lost in this attack in our thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.”
US officials stated that the soldiers were killed when an armed drone struck their housing unit. Media reports suggest that the US may have mistaken the suicide drone for a friendly one set to return at that time. However, the Pentagon has yet to officially explain the incident.
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh suggested that the attack bears the “footprints” of an Iranian-backed group in Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah. She clarified that the US has not made a final determination.
The drone assault marks the deadliest attack on US troops in the Middle East since an ISIS bomb killed four American soldiers in 2019. About 34 American service members were also injured, with an unspecified number identified as members of the Arizona National Guard, who have been deployed in Jordan since September.
