The U.S. military is taking new steps to protect its troops in the Middle East as concerns mount about attacks by Iran-backed groups, and it is leaving open the possibility of evacuations of military families if needed, officials tell Reuters.
The measures include increasing U.S. military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and hiking intelligence collection, including through drone and other surveillance operations, officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity.
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been repeatedly targeted since the Israel-Gaza conflict began on Oct. 7. The attacks have caused minor injuries to four U.S. service members so far and five U.S. military contractors, all of whom returned to duty, one of the officials said. A U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not specifically say what might trigger the evacuation of U.S. military families, who are deployed to Middle East locations including Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
"We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel in the near term and let's be clear about it, the road leads back to Iran," a senior defense official told Pentagon reporters on Monday.
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