From the Liveblog of
Thursday, June 9, 2016
US deploys second carrier group against IS
The US military says a second carrier group is nearing the Mediterranean Sea to bolster operations, the first time two American carriers will be in those waters at the same time since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
US European Command spokesman Lt. Col. David Westover says Thursday the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group of guided missile cruisers and destroyers is now in EUCOM’s area of responsibility in the Atlantic en route to the Mediterranean.
It joins the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group already in the Mediterranean.
US 6th Fleet spokesman Lt. Shawn Eklund says US warships are there to carry out anti-Islamic State actions and to reassure European allies.
He says: “When we put carriers in place, it sends a signal.”
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.