U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday that the U.S. will be sending 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East to “address air, naval, and ground-based threats” in the area.
According to Fox News, Shanahan approved a request from Central Command to send reinforcements after images were released on Monday of two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near the heavily populated Strait of Hormuz that had been targeted by Iranian forces.
Last Thursday, Iranian forces are believed to have used limpet mines to attack two oil tankers, leaving major damage behind.
The released photos show a large hole in the side of one of the vessels – the Japanese owned Kokuka Courageous. Officials believe the hole, which was strategically placed just above the ships water line, was created by a limpet mine to damage the ship rather than to sink it.
The other tanker that was attacked was the Norwegian-owned crude oil tanker MT Front Altair. Photos show the Front Altair engulfed in flames after the explosion, National Public Radio reports.
Thursday’s attacks caused the forced evacuation of some 44 sailors, but no deaths have been reported.
According to Fox News, the photos – which were taken from a Navy helicopter – not only reveal the damage done to the ships, but also show several members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard…
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