Pentagon worries about new attacks on US troops in Middle East
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – US Department of Defense (DOD) officials expressed on Wednesday Pentagon’s apprehension over possible Iranian attacks on US troops in the Middle East amid the ongoing military escalation between Israel and Hamas.
The DOD officials express specific concern that Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, as well as Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf, may exploit the regional instability to target US or allied forces deployed in these countries, Politico reported.
The US troops in the Middle East are “aware of malign actors who may seek to capitalize on conflicts and instability in the region,” said Maj. Geoffrey Carmichael, the spokesperson for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR)
Although he did not mention Iran by name, Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, warned outside actors not to try to widen the conflict in a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, according to Politico.