(ReliableNews.org) – There are fears that the Israel-Hamas War could turn into a wider regional conflict. Some of those fears were already realized when Israel and Lebanon started launching attacks on one another. Now, there has been an assault on military bases that hurt American troops, and the Pentagon is reportedly stepping up surveillance in the region.
The US military has taken new steps to protect its troops that are in the Middle East. The Pentagon began taking these steps out of concern that Iran-backed groups could target US service members. Those worries turned out to be founded when groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched drone attacks on American bases in Syria and Iraq, On October 18.
On October 24, US Central Command told NBC that the drone attacks injured 24 American service members, but all of them were back at work. The military shot down one of the drones.
According to Reuters, the Pentagon is considering the possibility of evacuating military families from the Middle East. They are also increasing military patrols, drones, and other surveillance operations. They might also restrict access to base facilities.
The head of US Central Command, Army General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, issued a statement saying there’s been an “increase in the number of attacks and attempted attacks” on American “military locations,” therefore the Pentagon is reviewing its “force protection measures.” The general explained that there has already been an effort to increase security and that has “prevented more serious casualties” in recent days.
A US warship shot down more than a dozen drones off the coast of Yemen. Four cruise missiles were also fired at the warship by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
In addition to the Americans troops that suffered injuries in the drone attacks, five US military contractors were also hurt. They, too, have returned to duty. A civilian contractor died from cardiac arrest during a false alarm at a US military base in Iraq, however.
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