The U.S. Deploys An Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Into The Persian Gulf In Response To The Crisis In Iraq

The USS George HW Bush has been ordered into the Persian Gulf, from which it could send manned aircraft to strike jihadist positions. Photograph: US navy/Reuters

US Orders Aircraft Carrier into Gulf Amid Iraq Crisis -- Voice of America

The United States has ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf in response to the crisis in Iraq.

The Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, says Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave the order that the USS George H.W. Bush move from the North Arabian Sea to the Gulf Saturday.

Kirby says the order provides President Barack Obama "additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq."

A guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer will accompany the aircraft carrier.

Meanwhile, the French news agency (AFP) reports an Iraqi air strike hit a convoy of Kurdish forces in eastern Iraq, possibly by mistake, killing six fighters. And mortar fire in central Iraq hit a recruitment center for civilians volunteering to fight the Islamist militants, killing six people. Neither report has been confirmed.

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More News On The U.S. Deploying An Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Into The Persian Gulf In Response To The Crisis In Iraq

US sends aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf as Obama considers air strikes in Iraq -- The Guardian
U.S. moving aircraft carrier closer to Iraq -- USA Today
US aircraft carrier repositioned in case needed in Iraq -- FOX News
Hagel orders US aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf -- AP
Pentagon deploys aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf in case of Iraq op -- RT
U.S. Aircraft Carrier, Cruiser, Destroyer Arrive in Persian Gulf -- NBC
US to move aircraft carrier into the Gulf amid Iraq unrest -- Deutsche Welle