The Pentagon has revealed the identities of the three U.S. service members who lost their lives in a drone strike on a base in northeast Jordan. The Defense Department stated on Monday that the soldiers were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The incident occurred on Jan. 28, 2024, when an unmanned aerial system impacted their living quarters, according to the Pentagon.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett died on Jan. 28, 2024, in Jordan.
Defense Department
In a statement, Spc. Moffett’s mother, Francine Moffett, described her daughter as a bright and sociable individual who was passionate about serving in the military. She mentioned that Breonna had plans to return and volunteer with the ROTC program after her tour and serve as a mentor.
Pentagon’s deputy press Secretary Sabrina Singh addressed the media on Monday, underscoring that the attack was unusual due to its location and timing, happening in the early morning while the soldiers were in their sleeping quarters.
Singh indicated that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed militia was responsible for the drone attack, which has been linked to Kataib Hezbollah. However, the Pentagon stated that the investigation is ongoing, and the U.S. will retaliate at a time and place of their choosing. Additionally, a U.S. official mentioned that the drone used in the attack was of Iranian origin, a type known as the Shahed drone, supplied by Iran to Russia.
The incident occurred at an outpost called Tower 22 and left over 40 service members injured, with some in critical condition but stable. The soldiers were inside their sleeping quarters at the time of the attack. The strike is believed to be the deadliest assault on U.S. service members since 13 Americans were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Kaia Hubbard, Stefan Becket, Margaret Brennan, David Martin, Nancy Cordes, and Christina Ruffini contributed to this report.
How will the U.S. respond to the deadly attack in Jordan?
Eleanor Watson
Eleanor Watson is a CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon.
