US carrier strike group enters Mediterranean
A US Navy carrier strike group, headed by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman, has begun an operation in the Mediterranean Sea, the US Navy’s press service reported.
The operation is being held “to continue supporting NATO allies, European and African partner states, coalition partners and national security interests of the US and Europe in Africa”.
According to US Sixth Fleet Commander Lisa Franchetti, the group will practice “the full scope of naval operations” during its stay in the Mediterranean.
In addition to the aircraft carrier, which carries nine squadrons of deck aircraft, including helicopters, the group includes the missile cruiser USS Normandy and several destroyers.
The US currently has three missile destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean: the USS Carney, Ross and Winston Churchill, all equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, and the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, the command ship USS Mount Whitney.
At least three Los Angeles-class attack submarines are also stationed in the region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said previously that the US appears to be drawing forces towards Syria in order two launch a missile strike. The Pentagon dismissed the assertion as propaganda.