U.S. Military personnel stationed in Baghdad, Iraq held a Memorial Day service to honor the three U.S. Army soldiers who were killed in a drone attack in Jordan earlier this year. The soldiers, Staff Sgt. William Rivers, Sgt. Kennedy Sanders, and Sgt. Breonna Moffett, were killed on January 28 after a drone attack by an Iranian proxy group hit Tower 22, a small U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan. The soldiers had been stationed at Tower 22 to support the mission to defeat ISIS. The base, once home to over 100,000 people, has since dwindled to 7,500 due to a lack of supplies.
The Memorial Day ceremony at the Union III base in Baghdad’s Green Zone was attended by Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve. The ceremony included a ceremonial wreath presentation in honor of the fallen service members. The soldiers were stationed at Tower 22, just across the border from Syria, and were part of a mission to defeat ISIS. The base, that saw an increased U.S. presence after American forces entered Syria in late 2015, includes U.S. engineering, aviation, logistics, and security troops with about 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel deployed there.
The soldiers, Rivers, Sanders, and Moffett, were all assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, an Army Reserve unit based in Fort Moore, Georgia. Previous known as Fort Benning. The soldiers’ deaths were a result of the drone attack on Tower 22 by an Iranian proxy group. The camp has seen a decrease in population from over 100,000 to 7,500 due to a lack of supplies, according to United Nations estimates. In 2016, a car bomb attack at the camp killed seven Jordanian border guards, leading to concerns about infiltration by extremist groups.
The soldiers stationed at Tower 22 were supporting the mission to defeat ISIS at the time of their deaths. The base, which began as a Jordanian border observation outpost, saw an increased U.S. presence after American forces entered Syria in late 2015. The small installation includes U.S. engineering, aviation, logistics, and security troops, with about 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel deployed there. The Memorial Day ceremony in Baghdad’s Green Zone honored the sacrifice of Rivers, Sanders, and Moffett, who were killed in the drone attack in January.
The soldiers killed in the drone attack, Rivers, Sanders, and Moffett, were honored at the Memorial Day service in Baghdad. The soldiers were stationed at Tower 22 to support the mission to defeat ISIS, and their deaths were a result of a drone attack by an Iranian proxy group. The camp has seen a decrease in population from over 100,000 to 7,500 due to a lack of supplies and concerns about infiltration by extremist groups. The soldiers, all assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, were based in Fort Moore, Georgia, previously known as Fort Benning.
The Memorial Day ceremony included a wreath presentation in honor of the fallen service members and was attended by Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve. The soldiers’ deaths were a tragic result of the drone attack on Tower 22, a small U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan where they were stationed. The base, which has seen a reduced population in recent years, was once home to over 100,000 people but now houses only 7,500 due to a lack of supplies. The soldiers, Rivers, Sanders, and Moffett, were all stationed at Tower 22 to support the mission to defeat ISIS.
