Three US service members killed in Jordan

Three U.S. service members were killed in Jordan on Friday, after they were fired upon while approaching a Jordanian military facility, according to the Pentagon.

“We are saddened to report that three U.S. service members were killed today in a shooting incident at a Jordanian military base. 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,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

{mosads}”We are working closely with the government of Jordan to determine exactly what happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of these service members. We will provide more information as appropriate,” he added.

A BBC report said the service members were fired upon by Jordanian security forces when they failed to stop when approaching the gate at the al-Jafr base in the south of Jordan.  

One service member was killed immediately, while two others were flown to the King Hussein Hospital in Jordan for medical care, where they later died, U.S. officials said. The incident happened just after noon.

Jordan is a close military ally of the U.S., and a member of the U.S.-led military coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

U.S. troops are training vetted moderate Syrian opposition rebels to fight ISIS at training facilities in Jordan and Turkey. 

This story was updated at 1:57 p.m.