U.S. boosts forces in Middle East as Iran situation reignites

The U.S. is shoring up its defenses in the Middle East after tit-for-tat attacks between the U.S. military and an Iran-backed Shia militia group stoked new tensions in the region this week, the top U.S. general in the region announced Friday.

Following the Wednesday rocket attack on Camp Taji, Iraq, that killed U.S. and British service members and a retaliatory U.S. and British airstrike on five locations in Iraq on Thursday, the U.S. military will continue to operate two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Harry S. Truman, Gen. Frank McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon Friday. This is the first period of extended dual U.S. carrier operations in the Middle East since 2012, he said.

McKenzie stressed the symbolic significance of keeping two U.S. carriers in the region, noting that the vessel "is a floating piece of American sovereignty."