US deploys some 15,000 troops in Mideast with three aircraft carrier strike groups

NEW YORK, April 25. /TASS/. Over 200 US planes and helicopters, as well as 15,000 sailors and marines, have arrived in the Middle East as part of three aircraft carrier strike groups, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said. "For the first time in decades, three aircraft carriers are operating in the Middle East at the same time. Accompanied by their carrier air wings, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) include over 200 aircraft and 15,000 Sailors and Marines," CENTCOM wrote on the X social network. Earlier, CENTCOM informed that an aircraft carrier strike group led by USS George H. W. Bush had arrived in its zone of responsibility. On April 21, USNI News reported, citing Pentagon sources, that the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which took part in operations in Venezuela and Iran, has crossed the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea after repairs. Besides, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is operating in the Arabian Sea.