Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Thursday the United States is preparing to take significant action in response to the deaths of three U.S. service members in Jordan.
"We've not described what our response is going to be, but we look to hold the people that are responsible for this accountable," Austin said at a news conference at the Pentagon.
"I don't think the adversaries are of a 'one and done' mindset. And so they have a lot of capability. I have a lot more," he said. "We're going to do what's necessary to protect our troops."
According to Austin, the administration has planned a "multi-tiered response" to attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East, but aims to avoid a wider conflict there, the Hill reported.
"At this point, it's time to take away even more capability than we've taken in the past," he said.
He called the effort one that "will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people."
In the wake of the attack that killed three American troops and injured roughly 40 others in a Sunday drone strike on Tower 22 military base in Jordan near the Syrian border, the White House has said it believes the Islamic Resistance in Iraq was responsible, The Hill noted.
While the threat of retaliation for Sunday's deaths of three service members has driven some militant groups to say they were stopping hostilities, Yemen's Houthi rebels were still attacking vessels Thursday — and fired a ballistic missile at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea.
American troops have also come under fire from Iranian-backed groups more than 160 times since late October, after Israel launched an offensive in Gaza aimed at wiping out Hamas.
"I think everyone recognizes the challenge associated with making sure that we hold the right people accountable, that we do everything necessary to protect our troops and that we manage things so that they don't escalate," Austin told reporters, The Hill reported.
"There are ways to manage this so it doesn't spiral out of control. And that's been our focus throughout."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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