Amidst the rising tension with Iran, the United States has deployed six B-52 bombers to Diego Garcia on Monday. The Pentagon ordered the deployment to the British controlled island in the Indian Ocean which has been a strategic location for the US in the region. Media reports cited unidentified sources from the Pentagon that said that the island is out of reach for the Iranian missiles.
Tensions rose after an Iran backed militia attacked the coalition base in Iran killing a US contractor and wounding several in the troops. This ensued with several retaliation between the two countries. The US has relied on Diego Garcia on various military affairs that involved the middle eastern region.
A US defense official said that the US military had sent a bomber task force into Qatar in May, but brought it back later in a span of few months. On Monday, the Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley had talked about the confusion regarding the withdrawing of troops from Iraq. This was a day after the Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution to expel the troops from Iraq.
Reportedly seen departing from Barksdale Air Force Base
The US military is putting together a more strategic reinforcement in Iraq following the letter circulating in the US of retrieving the military from Iraq. The reinforcement is coming from Kuwait and increasing the helicopter protection inside Iraq. The fortified region of Green Zone was attacked by the bombers in the past few weeks and US is beefing up security to protect the zone.
The B-52 bombers were seen departing from the Berksdale Base, Louisiana to Diego Garcia which is around 2,300 miles from Iran's southernmost tip. This move is to increase the protection in the middle eastern region after the attacks in the past few weeks.
The bombers can carry a large cache of weapons including cruise missiles, conventional and laser-guided bombs, and nuclear gravity bombs. The military aviation watchers tracked at least two bombers leaving the base on Monday.
