Iran launched six ballistic missiles toward the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba on Wednesday morning, the Hashemite Kingdom’s military said.
“Air defense systems detected six missiles launched from Iranian territory toward the kingdom and engaged them immediately upon their entry into Jordanian airspace,” an official Jordanian military source told the state-run Petra News Agency.
Four missiles were intercepted, while the remaining two landed in remote, uninhabited areas, the report said.
Explosions were heard in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, near the Jordanian border, and two plumes of smoke could be seen rising in the direction of Aqaba, according to Hebrew media reports.
The attack marked the second time Aqaba has been targeted in recent days. On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it helped intercept missile fragments after Iran launched missiles toward the Jordanian port city.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s military claimed that it launched overnight drone attacks on U.S. military assets in Jordan and Bahrain.
The unmanned aerial vehicles targeted housing units and an equipment depot at a military base in Jordan, according to Fars News, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Fars News said additional drones targeted hangars and other buildings used by U.S. troops at a military facility in Bahrain.
The Jordanian military told the Petra News Agency that the country’s air defenses intercepted four Iranian drones. No injuries or damage were reported, an official said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities in Bahrain.
One of the drone attacks on Jordanian territory targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, where at least two U.S. service members were killed in a previous Iranian missile attack on July 17, Fars News claimed.
The U.S. military confirmed on Tuesday that a third service member, who had been missing since the July 17 attack, was likely also slain. Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, is “believed to be deceased,” the U.S. Department of Defense said. Her official status was updated to “Duty Status–Whereabouts Unknown,” it added.
Iranian forces launched three separate missile strikes on the base on July 17, with the final attack killing the U.S. service members, according to a reconstruction published by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The other casualties were identified on Monday as First. Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, from Carrollton, Texas.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited U.S. officials familiar with the matter, the deadly strike hit prefabricated housing units where troops lived and slept.
The first two strikes damaged the base gym and an empty aircraft hangar, the officials said. Air-raid sirens sounded in time for troops to seek shelter, though some were injured while running to bunkers.
