Roughly 900 US troops have been deployed or are deploying to the Middle East amid heightened tensions in the region after a series of attacks on coalition bases that resulted in minor injuries for almost two dozen troops.
“These include forces that have been on prepare to deploy orders, and which are deploying from the continental United States,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday. “Deployed and deploying units include a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery from Fort Bliss Texas, Patriot batteries from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Patriot and Avenger batteries from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and associated air defense headquarters elements from Fort Bliss and Fort Cavazos, Texas.”
Ryder added that the deploying units would not be going to Israel and are “intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster US force protection capabilities.”
The Pentagon previously announced the deployment of the THAAD and Patriot batteries.
As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, the US is seeking to send a strong message to adversaries to prevent the conflict spreading more widely in the region.
CNN has reported that the US has intelligence that Iranian-backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to US support for Israel.
Ryder said Thursday that between October 17 and 26, US and coalition forces have been attacked “at least 12 separate times in Iraq, four separate times in Syria, by a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets.”
A total of 21 US service members have received minor injuries as a result of attacks between October 17 and 18, CNN reported Wednesday. Of those, 19 – 15 at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq and four at al-Tanf Garrison in Syria – have been…
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