Three U.S. military personnel were killed in Jordan on Thursday when they came under fire as they were entering a military facility, Pentagon officials said.
"We are saddened to report that three U.S. service members were killed today in a shooting incident at a Jordanian military base," Mark Wright, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a Nov. 4 press statement.
The three service members were in Jordan on a training mission, and the initial report is that they came under fire as they were entering the facility in vehicles, Wright said.
The Agence France-Presse News agency quoted a U.S. defense official as saying it was a "green on blue" incident, meaning friendly forces attacked U.S. personnel, according to the BBC.
The BBC also reported that the U.S. personnel failed to stop when approaching the gate at Al-Jafr Air Base and were fired upon by security forces.
"We are working closely with the government of Jordan to determine exactly what happened," Wright said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of these service members. We will provide more information as appropriate."
Initial reports said one person was killed and two other service members were wounded. The two were taken to the hospital, where they later died, the BBC reported.
Under DoD policy, the victims' identities "will be released 24 hours after next of kin notification," Christopher Sherwood, another DoD spokesman, told Military.com when asked about the victims' military branch of service.
Jordan is a key U.S. ally and member of a U.S.-led military coalition fighting the extremist Islamic State group, which controls parts of neighboring Iraq and Syria.
In addition to the U.S. casualties, a Jordanian officer was also wounded, Jordanian officials said.
Jordan faces homegrown extremism, with hundreds of Jordanians fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and several thousand more supporting the extremist group in the kingdom.
Last November, a Jordanian police captain opened fire in an international police training facility, killing two Americans and three others. The government subsequently portrayed the police captain as troubled.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-- Military.com reporter Amy Bushatz contributed to this report.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
