US could have 3 carriers in the Mideast soon, official says, as thousands of troops head to region

Three US ships that together carry over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines are heading to the Middle East, a US official says.

That includes the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group. It could mean three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October, according to the official, who speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

That would be an unusually high US naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft. It comes as the war with Iran stretches past seven months. The US Navy previously had three carriers in the Middle East in April — for the first time since 2003.

The USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington are there now, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group. The Pacific-based Washington had moved to the Middle East to relieve the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.