US DEPLOYS 2,500 TROOPERS TO KUWAIT FOR CONDUCTING MISSIONS IN SYRIA & IRAQ

US DEPLOYS 2,500 TROOPERS TO KUWAIT FOR CONDUCTING MISSIONS IN SYRIA & IRAQ – REPORT

Some 2,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division is being dispatched to Kuwait by Pentagon in order to be sent to Syrian and Iraq to fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.

Photo: Reuters / Omar Sobhani

The Pentagon is dispatching 2,500 servicemen from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, based at the Fort Bragg military base, to Kuwait, from where they will be sent to Syria and Iraq to fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, the Army Times newspaper reported on Friday. The newspaper also noted that 1,700 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team have already been deployed to the region between Iraq and Kuwait.

According to the open sources, the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team consists of more than 4,000 soldiers, who form cavalry, artillery, infantry and combat support battalions.

On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an unnamed military official, that the US Defense Department intends to have rapidly deployable forces in Kuwait as part of the ongoing change in the US strategy to defeat the IS.

On Wednesday, deputy chief of staff for operations of the US Army, Lieutenant General Joseph Anderson, said that the additional troops will be “postured there to do all things Mosul, Raqqa, all in between.”

“So the whole brigade will now be forward,” Anderson noted.

However, the Army command refused to provide any details on the exact timeline of the new deployment.

On Thursday, commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Joseph Votel, said that more “conventional forces” would be sent to the Middle East in order to conduct so-called “stability operations.” Speaking at the Senate Armed Services Committee, he also noted that “as we move more towards the latter part of these operations into more of the stability and other aspects of the operations we will see more conventional forces requirements perhaps.”

“We have become very comfortable and capable of operating together,” Votel noted. “So, what I have pledged to our commanders and what I expect from them is for them to ask for the capabilities that they need and then for us to ensure we have the right command and control, the right force protection, the right resources in place to ensure that we can function properly together.”

According to the Army Times, there are about 6,000 US troops in Syria and Iraq at the moment.

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