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The US extends the mission of the aircraft carrier George HW Bush and its battle group after the American base in Syria was attacked by drones. Photo/REUTERS/Hannah McKay
DAMASCUS – United States of America (USA) decided to extend the operating schedule aircraft carrier George HW Bush and his battle group. The decision came after its base in northeastern Syria was attacked by a drone that killed an American contractor last week.
The decision means the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group and more than 5,000 US troops, now in the European Command’s operational area, will not return to their home ports in the United States on schedule.
Quoting a Reuters report, Saturday (1/4/2023), US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino has confirmed the extension of the carrier group’s mission schedule.
“The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, including (battleships) USS Leyte Gulf, USS Delbert D. Black, and USNS Arctic, allows options to potentially enhance CENTCOM’s capabilities to respond to a wide range of contingency in the Middle East,” Buccino said in a statement. statement.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the carrier strike group was expected to remain within European Command’s area of responsibility.
Reports of an extension to the carrier’s mission schedule come a day after the Pentagon doubled its tally of American troops injured in last week’s strikes in Syria to 12. The addition follows the diagnoses of six US military personnel with traumatic brain injuries.
The drone strike, which the US claims came from Iran, also killed an American contractor and injured another.
President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act decisively to protect Americans.
