​​​​​​​US officials: Activating US missile defense systems in Iraq

Officials said that the "Patriot" missile systems and two other short-range missile systems were deployed at Ain al-Assad base, which was hit by a missile strike last January after the killing of the Quds Force commander Qasim Soleimani, as well as at the military base in Hawler / Erbil, and also installed Short-range missile defense system in Taji camp.

The US military has gradually moved defense systems to Iraq over the past few months to provide more protection for forces subjected to a series of missile attacks.

Shortly after Iran launched a missile attack against US forces present at the Ain al-Assad base in January, questions were raised about the lack of air defense systems in those bases, but it took some time to overcome tensions and negotiate with Iraqi leaders, as well as to define systems Defense that can be transferred to Iraq.

Before the missile attacks, US commanders were not more convinced about the transfer of missile systems to Iraq, than other locations around the world.

These systems have now been activated, as senior US officials have warned of continued threats from Iraqi groups affiliated with Iran.

General Mark Milli, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday that because of this threat, hundreds of soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 82nd Division, would remain in Iraq.

He confirmed that only one battalion was allowed to return to Fort Bragg, North Carolina "in part because the situation with Shiite militias and Iran has not been 100 percent stable" and added that they "will continue their mission until the time we believe the threat has subsided."

Several rockets landed near the US oilfield services company site in southern Iraq last week, and this was the first such attack in recent months targeting US energy interests.

US President Donald Trump said early last week that his administration had received intelligence that Iran was planning a strike, and he did not give details, but he warned Iran in a tweet saying that if American forces come under attack from Iran or its proxies, "Iran will pay a heavy price."

Other officials have said in recent weeks that there is an increase in intelligence indicating a possible major attack, but they said this week that the threat appears to have receded, as countries grapple with the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

However, military commanders argue that US and coalition forces need additional protection because threats from Iran's proxies remain.

In addition, General Frank McKenzie, the commander of US forces in the Middle East, told reporters that transporting Patriot missiles and other systems to Iraq was difficult because it meant that he would have to move the systems from elsewhere where they were needed as well, and officials did not say where they were taken Regimes in Iraq.

T/S

ANHA