The U.S. is preparing to deploy an additional 3,000 troops to the Middle East following the deadly airstrikes that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, new reports say.
Approximately 3,000 U.S. Army troops from the Immediate Response Force with the Fort Bragg-based 82nd Airborne Division will go through with deployment after waiting on standby, according to three unnamed U.S. defense officials and one U.S. military official who spoke with NBC News on Friday.
The soldiers are expected to remain deployed in the region – particularly Iraq and some in Kuwait – for 60 days.
They will join 750 troops from the same unit who previously deployed earlier this week.
News of the deployment broke hours after the Pentagon confirmed the death of Soleimani via U.S. airstrikes ordered by President Trump.
Iranian leaders have since vowed to retaliate against the U.S. for the death of its revered general.
The threats have prompted the U.S. State Department and U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to issue high alert warnings, telling all Americans in Iraq to “leave immediately.”
