WASHINGTON, April 1. /TASS/. The Pentagon has redeployed a number of A-10 attack aircraft of the Idaho Air National Guard to the Middle East, the Air and Space Forces Magazine said.
According to the media outlet, more than 300 US military personnel were sent along with the aircraft to the region, which is part of US Central Command’s area of responsibility. It is noted that the transfer of attack aircraft was carried out shortly after the US Air Force confirmed the arrival of several B-2 strategic bombers at a military base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago located in the Indian Ocean. The deployment of additional forces to the Middle East is connected with the beginning of the operation of the US army against the Yemeni Houthis, the magazine wrote. It did not specify what tasks the A-10 attack aircraft will have to perform.
On March 28, The Daily Telegraph reported, citing a military source, that the Pentagon was transferring four more B-2 strategic bombers to the Diego Garcia in addition to three heavy stealth aircraft that had arrived on the island earlier.
On March 15, US President Donald Trump announced the launch of a military operation against the Houthis, who control about one-third of Yemen’s territory. He attributed the decision to Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The operation involves the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, which is based in the Red Sea. It regularly strikes Ansar Allah-controlled territory in Yemen. US Air Force B-2 strategic bombers have also conducted precision strikes against fortified underground weapons storage locations.
Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement said that it would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted. Since November 2023, the Houthis have attracted dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, explaining their actions as support for the Gaza Strip.