عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Second US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Middle East

File photo of the US aircraft carrier "Eisenhower" in the Red Sea (AFP)
File photo of the US aircraft carrier "Eisenhower" in the Red Sea (AFP)
TT
TT

Second US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Middle East

File photo of the US aircraft carrier "Eisenhower" in the Red Sea (AFP)
File photo of the US aircraft carrier "Eisenhower" in the Red Sea (AFP)

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying destroyers have arrived in the Middle East, the US military said Wednesday, after the country's defense secretary ordered the strike group to accelerate its speed, AFP reported.

The carrier's arrival brings the number in the region to two -- at least temporarily, as the Lincoln is to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt -- at a time of heightened fears of regional conflict following high-profile assassinations claimed by, or blamed on, Israel.

"USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block III fighters, entered the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility," the military command responsible for the Middle East said on social media.

"The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9," it added.

The Pentagon said on August 11 that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Lincoln to "accelerate its transit" to the Middle East, after directing its deployment to the region at the beginning of the month.

Fears of a major escalation have mounted since Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to twin killings blamed on Israel late last month.

An Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs killed a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, shortly before an attack in Tehran blamed on Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Was Killed Last Year inside the War Operations Room, Aide Says

People look through the rubble of buildings which were leveled on September 27 by Israeli strikes that targeted and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
People look through the rubble of buildings which were leveled on September 27 by Israeli strikes that targeted and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Was Killed Last Year inside the War Operations Room, Aide Says

People look through the rubble of buildings which were leveled on September 27 by Israeli strikes that targeted and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
People look through the rubble of buildings which were leveled on September 27 by Israeli strikes that targeted and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on September 29, 2024. (AFP)

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year while inside the group's war operations room, according to new details Sunday disclosed by a senior Hezbollah official.

A series of Israeli airstrikes flattened several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2023, killing Nasrallah. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people died. According to news reports, Nasrallah and other senior officials were meeting underground.

The assassination of Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for 32 years, turned months of low-level strikes between Israel and the fighters into all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months until a US-brokered ceasefire took effect Nov. 27.

Nasrallah “used to lead the battle and war from this location,” top Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa told a news conference Sunday near the site where Nasrallah was killed. He said Nasrallah died in the war operations room. He did not offer other details.

Lebanese media had reported that Safa was a target of Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut before the ceasefire but appeared unscathed.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hezbollah is supposed to move its fighters, weapons and infrastructure away from southern Lebanon north of the Litani River, while Israeli troops that invaded southern Lebanon need to withdraw all within 60 days. Lebanese army soldiers are to deploy in large numbers and alongside United Nations peacekeepers be the sole armed presence in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon and Hezbollah have been critical of ongoing Israeli strikes and overflights across the country and for only withdrawing from two of dozens of Lebanese villages it controls. Israel says that the Lebanese military has not done its share in dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure.

Hezbollah’s current leader Naim Qassem in a televised address Saturday warned that its fighters could strike Israel if its troops don’t leave the south by the end of the month.

Safa said that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who negotiated the ceasefire deal with Washington, told Hezbollah that the government will meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein soon. “And in light of what happens, then there will be a position,” said Safa.

Hochstein had led the shuttle diplomacy efforts to reach the fragile truce.