Iranian Attacks Force 1,500 US Sailors Evacuation

Washington, MINA – Iranian missile and drone attacks have forced the US military to evacuate 1,500 sailors and their families back to the US from the NSA Bahrain base, carrying only the clothes in their backpacks, according to Washington-based National Public Radio (NPR), citing a Navy spokesperson.

Press TV reported on Sunday that in addition to the base in Bahrain, US troops have been evacuated from other US military bases in the region, NPR said.

American sailors continue to arrive at the US naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, with only the clothes they can fit in their backpacks.

The report said the sailors left behind their cars and furniture as they rushed to leave amidst Iranian retaliatory airstrikes.

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Struggling to protect US troops from Iranian drone and missile attacks, the Pentagon has issued a new federal contract notice seeking private contractors to provide “prefabricated, transportable, and reinforced shelter systems designed to protect personnel from blast and fragmentation threats.”

The Pentagon said at least 13 US military personnel had been killed and 365 injured as of Friday (April 3).

Meanwhile, the US investigative news site, The Intercept, reported that US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in West Asia, was engaged in a “casualty cover-up.”

It said CENTCOM had provided “grossly underestimations and outdated figures” and failed to provide details on casualties.

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They also refused to provide the exact number of US bases attacked by Iranian drones and missiles.

“We have nothing for you,” a CENTCOM spokesperson told The Intercept.

Over the past five weeks, US bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait have been targeted by a series of Iranian drone and missile attacks.

Iran has called on countries in the region to report the whereabouts of US troops. They have also demanded “the expulsion of US forces from the region for their own security.”

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When the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against Iran on February 28, approximately 8,000 US military personnel were stationed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NSA Bahrain) in the capital, Manama.

Videos circulating on social media showed Iranian drones and missiles attacking the US naval base multiple times on the first day of the US and Israeli attack on the country. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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