Amid rising tensions after the US airstrikes that killed Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani, the US air force is deploying six B-52 bombers to Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean, reported Fox News.
This is a move by the US military to bolster resources near the Middle East after hints of possible retaliatory attacks after Soleimani's death.
Apparently, the B-52 bombers were spotted leaving from Barksdale Air force base in Louisiana to Diego Garcia which is at a distance of 2,300 miles.
These aircrafts are designed to carry large weapons, like cruise missiles, conventional and laser guided bombs and nuclear gravity bombs.
A US defence official had said that the US military has earlier sent a bomber task force to Qatar in May 2019. However, the bombers left a few months later.
Earlier, on Monday, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said, in a letter from the US military, that it would with its troops from after Iraqi lawmakers approve a resolution to expel US troops