29 June 2024,   11:12
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Iran denies involvement in drone strike that killed three US troops

Iran has denied involvement in a drone attack on a US base near Jordan’s border with Syria that killed three US troops, writes BBC.

The US blamed the attack, which also left dozens injured, on “radical Iranian-backed militant groups”. US President Biden vowed revenge and said: “We shall respond”.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed it was behind the attack. The umbrella group emerged in late 2023 and is comprised of several Iran-affiliated militias operating in Iraq. It has claimed other attacks against US forces in recent weeks.

In a statement, the group said it had targeted three US bases in Syria and Jordan - Shaddadi, Rukban and Tanf, as well as an Israeli oil facility in the Mediterranean. The Iraqi government has condemned the attack and called for “an end to the cycle of violence” in the Middle East.

Iran denied US and British accusations that it supported militant groups blamed for the strike.

Nasser Kanaani, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, said it was “not involved in the decision making of resistance groups” in how they chose to “defend Palestinians or their own countries”.

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