As the threat of continued Iranian attacks targeting US military bases in the Middle East grows, many US troops and officers are strategically leaving bases and taking up positions elsewhere.
This situation has also created a housing crisis for military personnel across the region.
A report by Middle East Eye said that a portion of US troops stationed in various countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, are leaving military bases and staying in hotels or private homes due to security concerns.
Citing Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim News, the report said that the intelligence branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has called on the people of the Middle East to provide information about US troops stationed in residential areas.
An IRGC statement claimed that thousands of US troops were staying in hotels and private residences, and said the US was trying to use local residents as “human shields.” The same statement called on locals to identify the location of US troops and to send such information to them.
Meanwhile, a military escalation in the region has also seen an attack in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. French President Emmanuel Macron said one French soldier was killed and several others were wounded, some seriously.
Earlier, the French military said that a drone attack had targeted French soldiers participating in a counter-terrorism training operation in the Erbil region, injuring at least six soldiers.
According to analysts, recent military tensions in the Middle East have thrown not only regional security but also the security situation of international forces stationed there into new uncertainty.