The US has increased its military presence in the Middle East as a result of a string of assaults on US troops in Syria that were blamed on militias with ties to Iran, Pentagon reported. Ahead of a scheduled deployment, an A-10 attack aircraft squadron is moving to the area.
Following the bombings in Syria, the deployment of the attack aircraft was accelerated by several weeks, according to Lt. Col. Phil Ventura, a spokesperson for the Pentagon. In addition, the US ordered a squadron of A-10 attack planes to the area and a carrier strike group to stay in the area to reinforce American forces in Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, according to Ventura.
“Supporting the defeat-ISIS mission,” says Ventura
“We are committed to supporting the defeat-ISIS mission alongside a global coalition in Syria and prepared to respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East if needed,” Ventura said in a statement. According to Ventura, the US European Command will keep the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group in the Mediterranean Sea, where it will continue to support US forces there in the event of emergency plans and operations.
The strike group, which is commanded by the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, also consists of the support ship USNS Arctic, the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf, and the destroyer USS Delbert D. Black. “Collectively, these actions demonstrate the United States’ ability to rapidly reposition forces across the globe and underscore that all necessary measures will be taken to defend U.S. forces,” Ventura said.
One American contractor was killed and US servicemen in Syria were injured last week due to a series of strikes on US outposts there. Over 900 US soldiers are currently fighting ISIS in Syria as part of the ongoing mission. Yet because they are dispersed among numerous locations in northeast Syria, Iran and its allies in the area, who have the ability to execute drone or rocket attacks against American positions, have started to often target those forces.
“Iran threatens to push the Middle East into regional instability,” says Mark Miley
“Iran threatens to push the Middle East into regional instability by supporting terrorist and proxy forces,” said Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley in his opening remarks at the House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, despite the threat posed by Iranian proxies, the Pentagon remains determined to carry out the campaign against ISIS in spite of the attacks on US forces in Syria. “We will continue to counter terrorist threats in the region or anywhere else we find them,” Milley said.
The first assault took place last week when a drone targeted an American-staffed facility close to Hasakah in northeastern Syria. The Pentagon blamed militias connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the assault.
The US launched airstrikes against IRGC bases close to Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Five US servicemen and a second US contractor were reportedly injured in the incident, which also claimed the life of a US contractor, the military reported at the time. The Pentagon disclosed on Thursday that four additional military members had received traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnoses in the days following the attack. One of those service members who had been diagnosed with a TBI was sent to Baghdad, Iraq, for additional testing and care.
In retaliation, the US launched airstrikes against IRGC bases close to Deir ez-Zor, Syria. The military reported on Thursday that it believed eight insurgents were killed in the strike.