US sending additional forces to Middle East as Israel-Hezbollah conflict grows
Middle East tensions explode as Israeli air strikes on Lebanon kill nearly 500 people
The US is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday.
Major Genera Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, would not say how many more forces would be deployed or what they would be tasked to do. The US now has about 40,000 troops in the region. In the past, that number has exceeded 50,000.
On Monday, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, two US Navy destroyers and a cruiser set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, headed to the Sixth Fleet area in Europe on a regularly scheduled deployment.
The ships’ departure opens up the possibility that the US could keep both the Truman and the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is in the Persian Gulf, in the region in case more violence breaks out.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Ryder said. “But for operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics.”