Defence officials say the U-S is sending nearly three-thousand troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East as reinforcements following the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad.
The move reflects concern about potential Iranian retaliatory action and runs counter to President Donald Trump's repeated push to extract the United States from Mideast conflicts.
This morning, Trump tweeted that he ordered Soleimani's killing because the general had killed and wounded many Americans and was plotting to kill many more. Trump tweeted that Soleimani quote -- ``should have been taken out many years ago.''
The U-S is urging Americans to leave Iraq immediately following its airstrike near Baghdad's airport that killed a top Iranian general.
U-S embassies also issued a security alert for Americans in Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait and Nigeria.