The US is deploying air defenses and 900 troops to the Center East for “safety”
The US navy will deploy 900 troopers to the Center East to bolster its “pressure safety capabilities,” officers stated. The personnel will function new air protection batteries despatched to the area amid a string of assaults on US troops in Syria and Iraq.
Chatting with reporters on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier Common Pat Ryder stated among the troopers had already arrived within the Center East, whereas the remainder would quickly depart from their bases in america.
“The [Defense] Division stays squarely centered on supporting Israel’s protection wants within the wake of Hamas terrorist assaults, deterring a broader regional battle and guaranteeing pressure safety for our troops serving within the area,” he stated, referring to a lethal assault by the Palestinian armed group earlier this month.
The Pentagon additionally confirmed at the very least three extra tried drone and rocket assaults on US bases throughout Iraq and Syria, following a collection of strikes in latest weeks, together with one which left 20 troopers with “minor accidents,” in keeping with US Central Command.
Since October 17, US troops have been focused a complete of 16 occasions, with officers pinning blame on teams “supported by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the Iranian regime.”
The 900 troops will man quite a lot of air protection methods just lately stationed within the Center East, together with a Terminal Excessive Altitude Space Protection (THAAD) battery, Patriot missile platforms and Avenger air protection methods, Ryder stated.
Whereas he didn’t specify the troopers’ vacation spot, Ryder stated they’d not be deployed to Israel or participate in hostilities there, including that the transfer is as a substitute meant to “assist regional deterrence efforts.”
The wave of assaults on US navy outposts comes amid a brand new spherical of preventing between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, triggered after a Hamas terrorist assault claimed some 1,400 lives. Israeli forces have pounded the Palestinian enclave with airstrikes within the weeks since – killing greater than 7,000 individuals, in keeping with native officers – and are actually making ready a floor invasion.
US officers beforehand introduced a deployment of two,000 marines and sailors to waters off Israel’s coast as a part of a “present of pressure” within the area, and dispatched two plane provider strike teams to the Mediterranean. The strikes have been meant to “ship a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” an unnamed official advised CNN.
Washington presently maintains round 2,500 troops in Iraq, and as much as 1,000 in Syria, the place they proceed to occupy key oil fields and Euphrates river crossings with the assist of Kurdish-led militias. Although Baghdad permits US forces to stay in Iraq, the federal government in Damascus has repeatedly condemned their presence as unlawful underneath worldwide regulation.
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