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US to deploy dozen air defense systems to Middle East to protect bases, WSJ reports

According to the US Department of Defense press secretary, the goal is to increase the protection of the American military stationed in the region

NEW YORK, October 25. /TASS/. The United States will deploy about a dozen air defense systems to Iraq, Syria and several Persian Gulf countries amid a rise in attacks on regionally based US troops ahead of Israel’s much-anticipated ground operation in the Gaza Strip, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials.

According to the officials, the Pentagon has sent a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Saudi Arabia, and Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The systems are expected to be deployed later in the week.

US Department of Defense (DOD) Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said earlier that the US military was deploying a THAAD battery and additional Patriot systems to the Middle East. According to the DOD spokesman, the goal is to increase the protection of US troops stationed in the region.

On October 22, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued instructions for the deployment of these weapons to the Middle East.

The Ain al-Asad military base in Anbar Province in western Iraq, which hosts US forces, has been targeted by rocket and drone strikes since October 19. On October 20, two drones attempted to hit the Harir Air Base near the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, but the attack was repelled. Iraqi air defenses also downed an unmanned aerial vehicle over the US base Camp Victory near Baghdad International Airport. Earlier, Shia fighters had demanded that the US withdraw its troops from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

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Middle East conflict

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