the islamic state group claims responsibility for an attack on an istanbul church that left one person dead. hello i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour with the news that three us have troops have been killed in a drone attack on an american base near the jordan—syria border. us officials say more than 20 other personnel were injured. president biden said the attack had been carried out by an iranian—backed militant group operating in syria and iraq and vowed reprisals. as yet, no group has claimed it was behind the attack, and we have had no word from iran. jordan — a close ally of the us — has condemned what it called a terrorist attack and says its cooperating with the us and says it's cooperating with the us to secure the border

our diplomatic correspondent paul adams gave me the latest on what was known. we don't know exactly which side of the border took place, joe biden says. on thejordanians side, thejordanians don't seem to acknowledge that. but these are facilities that are right there on the border. and so perhaps in some ways that is less important, though clearlyjordan has no interest at all in getting sucked into this whole regional cauldron that we've seen for the last three orfour months. the attack is the first time that american troops in one of those bases scattered across the middle east, of which they have many have been killed in a drone attack like this. they did lose a couple of us navy seals in the red sea a couple they did lose a couple of us navy seals in the red sea a couple of weeks ago when they were intercepting a boat with weapons bound for yemen. but after dozens, i think as many as 150 attacks on us bases across the region since october

in iraq and syria primarily this is the first time this has resulted in american fatalities. so that is a stark reminder. in case anyone needed one ofjust how dangerous and volatile this region is, and if it did in fact take place on thejordanian side, asjoe biden suggests, then that is also a first. clearly, iran, which may not have said anything about this, has a very keen interest, one that it has demonstrated repeatedly in recent months to make life as difficult and uncomfortable for american forces wherever they are. and it is using its proxies and its allies to do precisely that. so do we have any idea who might be behind it? president biden saying iranian backed. but there are lots of groups in that area, aren't they? yes. and i think he actually said pro—iranian groups operating in iraq and syria. so he seemed to be slightly hedging his bets. i mean, there are a plethora of groups, more or less under the control or direction of iran in both syria and iraq.

and it could have come from either. if you look at the map, that border area is very adjacent, obviously, to syria, but also very close to iraq. so it could have come from either. they are all fundamentally operating with the same agenda. so again, that's perhaps less of a concern. you would imagine that us bases are very well defended. so was this something that they probably got lucky or what do you think? possibly, yes, because as i say, after 150 attacks in october, after 150 attacks since october, it is kind of remarkable that we have yet. this is the first time we've actually seen any of those attacks resulted in resulting in us fatalities. if it took place at al—tanf, which is the base on the syrian side, it is not the first time that base has been attacked. it's a kind of secretive facility where the americans have been operating with a couple of hundred troops in recent years.

it's been there since 2016. you know, it has been hit before. it's a place that the americans used for training, syrian opposition for mounting counterterrorist operations. it was established at the height of the campaign against islamic state, you know, more than ten... or ten years ago or a bit less than ten years ago. and so it has been a target. it is well defended. it is in the middle of nowhere. i mean, it's in the middle of the desert. so not not an easy place to to attack on the ground. but we've seen throughout this whole recent period the use of drones and ballistic missiles, sometimes with devastating effects. and it does seem as though this was a drone. president biden vowing retaliation. so i suppose the big question is, in what form would that come? well, i mean, that's already happening. the americans — and indeed the israelis — have mounted airstrikes against targets in syria, against pro—iranian militias. that is an ongoing conflict. that is not something

that is new to the last three orfour months. that is a long standing confrontation, albeit at a rather low level. so i guess we'll probably see more of that. i think the americans clearly have... are not interested in seeing a major escalation. so i don't think we're going to be seeing necessarily action directed at iran, for example. and in fact, i think it still remains the case, despite everything and despite the sort of sense of unease that exists across the region, that neither the americans nor the iranians want to see a major full on escalation. it is not in anyone�*s interest. and so i suspect what we will see is more american intelligence led operations of the kind we've been seeing in recent months, but nothing much more than that. so you don't think it is a tipping point? no, i don't. i mean, you know, bear in mind what else is going on at the moment. you know, the region is full of dangerous spots. the houthis in yemen being one and one that we've been reminded of in the last couple of days.

but we're also at a time when there are intensive negotiations going on, involving intelligence officials. we just saw them today in paris, the israelis, the egyptians, the qataris and the americans talking about a deal that could result in a 60 day cease fire in gaza. now, if that were to happen, then the houthies have already said then the houthis have already said they would call off their attacks in the red sea. and it would also reduce the imperative for some of those pro—iranian militias in the region to keep up the heat on american troops as well. so, you know, the americans will be as keen as anyone to try and see if a cease—fire is possible in gaza, because even though that doesn't do away with all the difficulties that have been so regularly exposed over the past few months, it would remove the proximate, immediate cause for what everyone is so worked up about.

the former deputy prime minister ofjordan, jawad al—anani told us the move would have come as a shock to thejordanians. well, it was surprising in every sense of the word. nobody has expected that anything close tojordan or that may involve jordan in any way would happen. so in a way, it is surprising for us injordan, and i'm sure thatjordan does not like that at all. jordan, as one of your ex—guests had said, would like to be aloof and at the same time, while sympathising and empathizing while sympathising and empathising with the people of gaza and sending help and humanitarian aid. but they are not encouraging an expansion of the war beyond what it is taking place, and it is working its utmost to contain the war in gaza. so in a way, it is surprising

jordan has to be worried. they have already expressed the fact that geographically it did not happen injordan, but very close to thejordanian border. so in a way, this area called neta or teknaf or you know, part of it is inside the syrian syrian territory. of it is inside the syrian territory. and so we have to wait and see how this is verified. but for sure, it is a challenge tojordan and it will keep us on our feet for a while. jawad al—anani the former deputy prime minster ofjordan talking to me earlier. well, let's get some more analysis of the drone strike. patrick brew—ree is a senior lecturer specialising in warfare patrick brewry is a senior lecturer specialising in warfare and counter—terrorism at the university of bath. he is also a former british army captain and nato analyst. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news, can i get your reaction to this drone strike? goad reaction to this drone strike? good

evenina. reaction to this drone strike? good evening- it's _ reaction to this drone strike? good evening. it's interesting _ reaction to this drone strike? (13r>r>:c evening. it's interesting seeing reaction to this drone strike? (13mm evening. it's interesting seeing the jordanians say it's a surprise, this is actually the 180th attack on us forces in the region since october the 7th. so you can even question whether it's an escalation, the difference is that it's been lethal. there are numerous us service people injured, with life—changing injuries since then. what's surprising from a military perspective, the number of casualties from a drone strike if that's what it is, managed to hit them when they are grouped together probably in a building, and potentially, you know, at sleep, at rest or indeed in a canteen or something like that, because normally your standard operating procedures are to keep well spaced out. again, if it's got through and penetrated a building like that, they probably weren't expecting or didn't realise that militias had this capability of hard—hitting drones because then they would be

grouped together like that. that potentially is a tactical surprise there, we'll have to wait and see what comes out, is more surprising than the fact that it's happened. indeed, it's been incredibly lucky that both the us troops in the region and also the warships, including a uk worship, haven't been more severely damaged or even hit, in fact. since the unrest has unraveled in both the red sea and iraq, syria, jordan. you unraveled in both the red sea and iraq, syria, jordan.— iraq, syria, jordan. you would imaaine iraq, syria, jordan. you would imagine that _ iraq, syria, jordan. you would imagine that us _ iraq, syria, jordan. you would imagine that us bases - iraq, syria, jordan. you would imagine that us bases are - iraq, syria, jordan. you would | imagine that us bases are very iraq, syria, jordan. you would - imagine that us bases are very well defended, so would they try to shoot the drones down? it defended, so would they try to shoot the drones down?— the drones down? it really depends, it's very hard — the drones down? it really depends, it's very hard to _ the drones down? it really depends, it's very hard to speculate _ the drones down? it really depends, it's very hard to speculate on - it's very hard to speculate on that. normally they have defence over bases to counter drones, so it basically came to you a s systems basically. if it's a new system or something they haven't seen you just really don't know. these are very isolated bases. traditionally, in previous conflicts, it had a high

ratio of us special forces from there, there are elite guys like the ranger regiments, and i did notice that the arrangement for this came from the us special forces command, we'lljust have from the us special forces command, we'll just have to from the us special forces command, we'lljust have to wait and see if that actually turns out to be the case but i would not be surprised if it does. but no, the more interesting theory is like why is this happening? the diplomatic efforts trying to take some of the oxygen out of the fire, which is really starting to burn out in the region, and hopefully that happens in paris, and there can be some sort of concert where things start to stabilise again. because i think in the us, the demand, the feeling out specially amongst the military that they've been contract to the iranians... ithink they've been contract to the

iranians... i think that's growing, and you can certainly look at the situation and go, ok, iran, is cooperating to some degree with russia. it's definitely help thomas launch that attack, it's definitely helping the houthis in their attacks on the shipping, it's really contributing in a malign way to the security situation in the region, and shouldn't the us now realise a containment strategy is not working and decide to target the uranian military? hence why all talks about these diplomatic strands going on are very important, because if they can get a deal over the line, maybe this, the counterpoint about maybe taking military action on a wider scale against the iranians can be averted. but certainly, to me looking at this strategically, the iranians have really sort of poured fuel on the fire at a time when people needed things to dampen down essentially. people needed things to dampen down essentiall . ., ~' , ., people needed things to dampen down essentiall . ., ~ , ., ., essentially. thank you, former british army— essentially. thank you, former british army captain, - essentially. thank you, former british army captain, thank . essentially. thank you, former| british army captain, thank you essentially. thank you, former - british army captain, thank you very

much forjoining us. we have a special live page up and running on the bbc news website and includes the latest analysis from the bbc team of experts. you can find that at bbc.com/news or on the bbc news app on your mobile device. staying in the middle east. the uk government says it remains "undaunted" after houthis targeted a british warship in the red sea during the latest round of strikes. these pictures show the moment hms diamond repelled the attack by firing sea viper missiles at an incoming which was heading directly towards the ship. the warship is currently situated in the red sea to protect merchant ships from houthi attacks. the uk ministry of defence says there were no injuries or damage. this latest strike from the iran backed group comes days after an oil tanker with british links was also hit — and went up in flames. the fire on the marlin luanda was extinguished with no crew injured after french,

indian and us naval ships provided assistance to the vessel. responding to the recent attacks, defence secretary grant shapps wrote: our political correspondent harry farley has the latest. this is isn't even the first time hms diamond, which is a british navy destroyer in the red sea, not the first time that hms diamond has been targeted by houthi drones. the statement from the ministry of defence in london saying that this was an intolerable and illegal attack, which is completely unacceptable and the ministry of defence says it is our duty to protect freedom of navigation in international waters. and as you say, the defence secretary grant shapps also condemning this attack. he says that the uk remains undaunted. so what happened, we understand,

yesterday afternoon, the houthi group in yemen launched a drone targeting hms diamond. the crew on hms diamond activated the ship's sea viper missile system, a missile system that costs more than £1 million per missile, and destroyed the drone. they say that there was no damage or injuries to anyone on board. but of course this isn't the first time that hms diamond has been attacked and it does raise questions about whether the uk will be drawn into future air strikes. of course, the uk is already has already struck houthi targets in yemen once, joining the us in doing that, and it is raising the question of whether it will do that again. harry farley. to turkey next. one man has been killed in a shooting at a catholic church in istanbul. two masked attackers struck during morning mass. local media reports say one suspect

has now been detained. in the last hour the islamic state group has claimed responsiblity for the attack. our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports from istanbul, and a warning her report contains some distressing images. two attackers in masks, captured on cctv, walking casually towards the church. a man enters. the gunmen follow and appear to target him. the congregation, ducking for cover. the victim had intended to become a christian, according to a relative, but was not baptised yet. police move in to seal off the streets around the i9th—century church, as a manhunt gets under way. a morning mass here became a scene after terror. a morning mass here became a scene of terror.

police are still here and there is a real sense of shock in the community. local officials and government ministers have rushed to condemn the attack and the search is still going on to find the killers. the local mayor told us there was no tension in the area between different religions. "the church doors are always wide open," he said, "even during mass." "muslims visit the church as well christians. as well as christians. "from time to time you see the priest having tea "in someone's house." and from the vatican, a message of support from pope francis. "i send my sympathy to the congregation of the church of santa maria," he said. "which suffered an armed attack during mass." the motive for the attack is unclear. but churches in this overwhelmingly muslim country have been

targeted in the past. orla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. two boys, aged 15 and 16, have died after being stabbed in bristol last night. police say they were attacked by a group who fled the knowle west area of the city. a 44—year—old man and 15—year—old boy have been arrested. dan johnson reports. another street turned crime scene, after a deadly knife attack. everyone here is trying to work out why two young lives were taken late last night. poor boys, poorfamily, so many people affected. it needs to stop, it really needs to stop. i don't want my girls to grow up, i don't want them to grow up. do you worry that it's getting out of control? yeah, yeah. a lot, yeah. i thought it was bad when we were young, wasn't it? then, but no, it wasn't bad. that double—decker bus marks where this attack happened

but we don't believe that was involved, itjust happened to be passing at the time. what we are told is that the two boys lived on this street, so it really has hit people here hard. officers were here quickly and tried first aid. they found a car, but not yet the others they think were involved. it's demoralising but it makes me determined to support the community. it makes me determined to work with the team of police officers that we have committed to this to identify those and bring them tojustice. any idea what was happening beforehand and why these boys may have been attacked? not at this stage and that's still subject to the ongoing investigation, looking for that cctv and accounts from people in the locality. no child should be on our street with a knife. this evening, there is anger in this community as well as sadness. there are parents that have got to live the rest of their life, and their brothers and sisters, without them. it's heartbreaking, heartbreaking.

there's talk of gang rivalries fuelled by social media. people here believe these boys are two of knife crime's innocent victims. danjohnson, bbc news, bristol. labour's chief whip has suspended mp kate osamor from the parliamentary labour party pending an investigation. she had sent a message to party members on the eve of holocaust memorial day in which she said there was an �*international duty�* to remember the victims of the holocaust, but also to remember �*more recent genocides in cambodia, rwanda, bosnia. ..and now gaza'. she faced backlash from thejewish labour movement, who said the comments were �*wholly inappropriate�*. she subsequently apologised on social media. now it�*s time for a look at today�*s sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. we�*re starting with football and the fa cup where liverpool

marched into the fifth round after a 5—2 win over norwich city. it was the club�*s first game since managerjurgen klopp revealed he�*s leaving at the end of the season. while the fans gave him a rousing reception before kick—off, his players didn�*t disappoint either. liverpool are still on for the quadruple this season. but of course, in the games, we need to be warriors, and not celebrate the old man on the sidelines! so that�*s what we need, atmosphere, and people know that. so today, good first match after the news. now we get used to it. elsewhere manchester united survived a real scare at newport county before finally seeing off the league two side�*s brave attempt at a giant? killing. 4?2 the final score there. watford and southampton, will have to replay after they drew. while the english fa have launched an investigation into crowd trouble at the local derby between west bromwich albion and wolves in which the match was suspended for more than half an hour.

wolves eventually won 2—0. guinea are into the quarter—finals of the africa cup of nations. after beating equatorial guinea 1—0 in abidjan. late goalfrom mohamed bayo sending them meanwhile egypt are currently in action against dr congo. where its currently. australia set up a tasty asian cup quarter—final clash against south korea or saudi arabia with a 4—0 win over a spirited but 0h oh my gosh england captain ben stokes says his side�*s incredible opening test victory in india was their best under his leadership over the last two years. facing an india side who�*d only lost three times on home soil in the past decade, england somehow turned a i90—run first?innings deficit into a hugely unexpected 28—run win. before this, the biggest lead any touring team had previously overturned there was just 65, and that was by australia 60 years ago! england�*s vice—captain ollie pope was player of the match after saving the game with a stunning knock of 196, while debutant spinner — tom hartley took seven

wickets to force the win. england lead the five match series 1—0. i think since becoming captain this is definitely the number one when. we have been part of some amazing games over the last two years. we have had some incredible victories. i think considering where we are, who we played against in the position we found ourselves going to in our second innings batting, to be able to sit now and say we are 1—0 up it is a big reason to say why i feel this is our best victory since i have become captain. australia set up a tasty asian cup quarter—final clash against south korea or saudi arabia with a 4—0 win over a spirited but limited indonesia on sunday. two goals in the first half put graham arnold�*s side on their the result leaves the two match series level. jannik sinner says he is ready for the pressure and expectation that comes with being a grand slam champion, after becoming the first italian to win the australian open. he beat danil medvedev in an enthralling five set final.

medvedev took control early on, winning the first two sets 6?3, 6-3. but then the young sinner, who was playing in his first grand slam final, recovered under pressure. and started to impose his game. winning the next three sets 6—4 6-4 6-3. sinner had been widely tipped as a potential champion at melbourne park after a standout year on the atp tour and also leading italy to their first davis cup title in late november. and that�*s all the sport for now. protesters have hurled soup at the mona lisa painting in paris. the 16th century work by leonardo da vinci is protected by bulletproof glass, so is unlikely to have been damaged. the two eco—protesters are reported to have been demanding the right to "healthy and sustainable food", saying "our agricultural system is at risk". it is the latest attack on the masterpiece in the louvre museum, after an activist threw a cream pie at the painting in 2022.

three us troops have been killed and 25 injured in a drone attack on a us base injordan, near the syria borderus us presidentjoe biden says while facts are still being gathered, the attack was carried out by iran—backed militant groups operating in syria and iraq. we have a life page on the bbc news website with the latest. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we did expect it to get a bit warmer today, but it may well turn out to be a record—breaking day. with some sunshine and a southerly wind ahead of a band of rain in highland scotland, temperatures reached close to 20 degrees earlier, and that would smash the previous january temperature record in the uk. the winds are dropping, actually, and temperatures will drop too. this band of rain moving through scotland and

northern ireland is heading into northern england and wales. following that, in the lighter winds, we get into colder air, so much so that in northern parts of scotland, there is likely to be a frost overnight tonight, whereas ahead of the rain across england and wales, it is still a mild start to monday. this rain will hang around in northern england and wales, heavy over the hills, particularly in the north west of england. much of scotland and northern ireland is likely to be dry with some sunshine. lighterwinds, but much colder than today. temperatures typically 7—8. where it is dry across the midlands and southern england, still mild, temperatures of ia may, maybe 15. of ia maybe 15. it will notjust be rain we will see on monday. they could be some snow after dark in the southern uplands, leading to icy conditions by tuesday morning, by which point the area of low pressure will have taken away the wet weather, and we are left with a cloudy start for england and wales. some sunshine for scotland and northern ireland will push

southward through the day. the mild air will be pushed away, but 12 degrees is still possible in the south—east. for many in the afternoon, nearer eight or so, so turning chillierfrom the north. towards the middle of the week, more isobars, more weatherfronts, turning wet and windy into scotland. widespread gales on wednesday, and across northern ireland, northernmost regions, the really strong winds are in the far north and scotland. but the highlands, we could see a couple of inches of rain. the wet and windy weather in scotland will sink down into northern ireland. england and wales looking dry, winds much lighter further south, and sunshine, temperatures of 10—11. the weather front bringing that rain will move southwards overnight. the rain peters out. chilly weather for a while, but then we change the wind direction by thursday, bringing in a milder air and also more cloud.

this is bbc news, the headlines. three american soldiers have been killed and dozens injured in a drone attack on a us base nearjordan�*s border with syria. the white house blamed the attack on an iranian—backed militant group. president biden promises to retaliate. knife crime in the uk. mourners gather, after a 15 and 16—year—old are killed in a stabbing attack by a group of people in bristol.

two people have been arrested. police say they are looking for futher suspects. israel says negotiations in paris over the release of hostages in gaza and a possible new ceasefire were "constructive", but "gaps remain". a deal could see fighting suspended for two months. the islamic state group claims responsibility for a shooting on an istanbul church that left one person dead. turkish police say are on the hunt for two gunmen, captured on cctv entering the church. now on bbc news, click.