WSJ: Iran hit gym, aircraft hangar, barracks building at US base in Jordan

An Iranian missile strike on Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base that killed two US service members hit a gym, an aircraft hangar and a barracks building, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.

The report said the first missile struck the base's gym and an aircraft hangar, and although warning sirens sounded in time for troops to take shelter in bunkers, several personnel were injured.

Hours later, a second missile hit an empty aircraft hangar, while a third struck a residential building where troops were sleeping.

Although the warning system was activated again, not all service members were able to reach shelter in time.

The Pentagon confirmed the deaths of a first lieutenant from Hawaii and a private from Texas. Another service member remains missing.

According to The Wall Street Journal, it remains unclear whether the two soldiers were killed inside the building or while attempting to reach a shelter.

The newspaper noted that the fact that three missiles penetrated air defences could point to vulnerabilities in the protection of the roughly 50,000 US troops stationed across the region.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov