US to deploys 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia
The United States announced on Friday a new, large deployment of forces to Saudi Arabia to help bolster the kingdom's defenses following the Sept. 14 attack on its oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran, TRT World reports.
The planned deployment, which was first reported by Reuters, will include fighter squadrons, one air expeditionary wing, and air defence personnel, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said it was sending two additional Patriot batteries and one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
"Taken together with other deployments, this constitutes an additional 3,000 forces that have been extended or authorised within the last month," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
It was unclear whether some of the newly announced troops might replace other American forces expected to depart the region in the coming weeks or months.
The Pentagon has yet to announce, for example, whether it will replace the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group when it eventually wraps up its deployment to the Middle East.
The deployment is part of a series of what the United States has described as defensive moves following the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities last month, which rattled global energy markets and exposed major gaps in Saudi Arabia's air defences.
Iran says two missiles hit tanker off Saudi coast
Iran's state-run news agency says two rockets struck an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
IRNA quoted a statement from Iran's national oil tanker firm as saying an attack targeted a tanker it identified as the Sabity.
It said the attack happened early on Friday morning.
The crew were all reported safe and the fire under control.
There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, says it was aware of the incident, but declined to immediately comment further.
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