From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
The US is set to deploy 3,500 additional troops to the Middle East as tensions with Iran rise following the drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani.
The troops will come from the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The killing of Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.
The Defense Department said it killed the 62-year-old Soleimani because he “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” It also accused Soleimani of approving the orchestrated violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Around 5,200 American troops are based in Iraq to train Iraqi forces and help in the fight against Islamic State group militants. Defense officials who made the announced about the new troops spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon. U.S. embassies also issued a security alert for Americans in Lebanon, Bahrain Kuwait and Nigeria.