US Navy to deploy carrier strike group to Middle East

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON

The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group along with seven other warships will depart from the U.S. for deployment to the Middle East and Europe, according to an official statement Tuesday.

The aircraft carrier will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and the guided-missile destroyers USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley, USS Forrest Sherman and USS Farragut.

The destroyers USS Jason Dunham and USS The Sullivans will join the strike group later, the navy statement said.

The navy also said the strike group, carrying 6,500 sailors and the Carrier Air Wing One, will cruise alongside the German frigate FGS Hessen during the first half of its deployment.

The mobilization of Harry S. Truman Carrier and other frigates came as President Donald Trump convened with his top military brass Monday night for a working dinner that focused on Washington's response to Bashar al-Assad's suspected chemical attack in which dozens of people were killed Saturday night outside of Damascus.

The U.S. navy said the departure of the strike group had been planned in advance.

The carrier group was sent to the Mediterranean Sea in 2016 to support the fight against Daesh during which it dropped more than 819 tons of bombs.