NEW YORK, March 30. /TASS/. The number of US troops in the Middle East has exceeded 50,000, The New York Times reported.

According to the newspaper, the figure rose above that level with the arrival of 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors in the region. The report noted that the current number of US troops in the Middle East is roughly 10,000 above the usual.

However, this figure does not include the 4,500 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the NYT added. In mid-March, a fire broke out on the ship, prompting it to leave the Red Sea to sail to Crete and then to the Port of Split on Croatia’s Adriatic coast for maintenance.